Bryant Mangum

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote approximately 170 short stories (more or less depending on how one characterizes some marginal autobiographical pieces) for sale to magazines during his twenty years as a professional writer. Though relatively few of these stories were collected in hardbound volumes during his lifetime, virtually all of them are now available in various collections of his short fiction. Before 1971 there was no book-length critical study devoted to Fitzgerald's short stories; since 1971 there have been four volumes devoted exclusively to them. At present, however, there is nothing that could be characterized as a reader's guide to Fitzgerald's short stories--a volume that would serve scholars and students as a source of information about each story and about the criticism that has been done on each story. I have been working for the past several years on such a volume, and my comments, entitled "A Reader's Guide to the Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald: Work in Progress," describe the process that I have been engaged in, and continue to be engaged in, as I work to complete this volume. As the project now stands there is a separate chapter on each of the 170 stories. Those stories that appeared in hardbound collections during Fitzgerald's lifetime (approximately 40 stories) are covered in relatively long chapters, 10-20 pages each; the remaining 130 stories are covered typically in shorter chapters, 3-5 pages each. Each chapter, long and short, contains composition and publication history of the story; its sources and influences; its relationship to other Fitzgerald stories; a summary of the critical commentary on each story; and a comprehensive bibliography of the criticism. "Work in Progress" describes the winding path that led me to this kind organization and some of the difficulties associated with this challenging project.