F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise sold 41,075 copies in its first year of publication, 1920. The debut novel appeared on March 26, 1920, and its initial printing of 3,000 copies sold out in only three days. The rapid success transformed the 23-year-old Fitzgerald from an aspiring writer into a national literary celebrity.
The novel drew heavily on Fitzgerald’s experiences at Princeton and on the post–World War I youth culture he wanted to portray. Its protagonist, Amory Blaine, is a privileged young man who moves through education, romance, ambition, and disillusionment. Fitzgerald’s commercial breakthrough also helped restore his engagement to Zelda Sayre; they married in New York on April 3, 1920.
A common mix-up concerns the larger figure of 49,075 copies. That number represents the total from twelve printings in 1920 and 1921, not sales during the first year alone. The 41,075-copy figure specifically refers to the novel’s 1920 sales, making it the appropriate answer to this question.