In 1925, The Great Gatsby was first released to mixed reviews and poor sales. What you don’t know, however, is that F. Scott Fitzgerald anticipated the meagre sales and sent his editor, Maxwell Perkins, an I TOLD YOU SO DIDN’T I TELL YOU I TOLD YOU memo.
You see, back when Fitzgerald was deciding on finishing touches such as titles and jacket illustrations, he suggested multiple taglines for his novel, all of which Perkins rejected, claiming a novel “doesn’t need a tagline, damn it Francis get over it now”.
These are the taglines that were suggested by the great American writer:
- In the big city that never sleeps, one man (Gatsby) also (mostly) doesn’t.
- Love in the time of jazz.
- A bootlegger’s work is never done.
- He dies in the end, but it was worth it sort of.
- The American Dream: coming to a bookstore near you.
- It all started with a green light that was very far away. Literally and metaphorically.
- He could fill a mansion, but he couldn’t fill his heart.
- Love conquers all, except when it doesn’t.
- You’ll never guess who’s back in town.
- When you’re willing to die for someone, you better be sure.
- T. J. Eckleburg is watching you… and everyone else in the book.
- As deep as Gatsby’s love for Daisy: very.
- Society, like the characters, is the worst.
- Why you, and Myrtle Wilson, should adopt, not buy, dogs.
- A world-class American novel, applicable only to Americans, but beloved by and forced upon all.
- Some secrets are better left unsaid or buried or something.
- How far would you go for a second chance at an epic love?
- In a world where morals are ambiguous, so is Gatsby’s actual reason for not calling Daisy up on the phone.
xtina same 