Which Fitzgerald short story is often seen as a precursor to The Great Gatsby?

The Fitzgerald short story often seen as a precursor to The Great Gatsby is “Winter Dreams.” It follows Dexter Green, a young man who rises from a middle-class background and becomes fascinated by Judy Jones, a wealthy and emotionally elusive socialite.

The story’s central pattern closely anticipates Gatsby: an ambitious man pursues an idealized woman whose wealth and social world seem to embody a larger dream. Dexter’s longing, Judy’s fickleness, and the eventual collapse of youthful illusions all echo the emotional architecture of Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel. Fitzgerald himself described “Winter Dreams” as his “first attempt at the Gatsby idea.”

The story was first published in Metropolitan magazine in December 1922 and later collected in All the Sad Young Men. Fitzgerald drew partly on his unsuccessful courtship of Ginevra King, who helped inspire Judy Jones. “The Rich Boy” is another important Fitzgerald story about class and privilege, but “Winter Dreams” is the canonical answer to this precursor question.