In this readers' guide, Nicolas Tredell introduces and sets in context the key critical debates surrounding a novel about which more critical material exists than any other work of American fiction. The extracts and essays included here reflect on The Great Gatsby's place as one of the first American novels to make significant use of modernist techniques, and explore the influence of the work on later American writings. Considering secondary sources from the 20s to the present, the Guide offers readers an invaluable resource for the study of this complex rendering of a moment in American history.