Author guide · Where the books are set

F. Scott Fitzgerald's world

Every real place F. Scott Fitzgerald's stories are set in — one guide across their books, verified against the text and mapped so you can read your way there before you go.

1 book · 3 real places · grounded to F. Scott Fitzgerald

Where are F. Scott Fitzgerald's books set?

F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1 book are set in 3 real places you can visit: New York City, Long Island's Gold Coast, and The valley of ashes — each a location their stories actually unfold in.

  • New York City
  • Long Island's Gold Coast
  • The valley of ashes

  1. Real places in The Great Gatsby

    • New York City

      Manhattan

      The climactic confrontation unfolds in a suite at the Plaza Hotel, and Nick, Gatsby, and the Buchanans drive into Manhattan over the Queensboro Bridge - Fitzgerald's Jazz-Age city of hotels and speakeasies.

      Books set in New York City

    • Long Island's Gold Coast

      West Egg & East Egg

      Gatsby's mansion and the Buchanans' house face each other across a bay: Fitzgerald drew West Egg and East Egg from the Great Neck and Sands Point peninsulas of Long Island's North Shore, where he was living in 1922-24.

    • The valley of ashes

      Corona, Queens

      The grey industrial wasteland between West Egg and Manhattan, presided over by the fading eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, maps to the Corona ash dumps of Queens - since cleared for Flushing Meadows.