Midas (p 8) - legendary king whose touch turned things to gold.

Morgan (p 8) - the great Wall Street banker, J.P. Morgan. He made millions prior to, as well as during, the Twenties.

Maecenas (p 8) - a Roman statesman and patron of literature; a generous benefactor.

Rise of the Colored Empire, by Goddard (p 17) - actually a reference to The Rising Tide of Color Against White World Supremacy, by Lothrop Stoddard, A.M., Ph.D. (Harvard, 1922) A book discussing Stoddard's concern over the growth of the Asian population, Bolshevik propaganda, "Pan-Islamism," and the decreasing fertility among western Europeans. For a reader's guide check out Stoddard's work.

Frisco (p 45) - Joe Frisco, the stuttering comedian who invented the "Black Bottom" dance.

Follies (p 45) - a reference to the Ziegfield Follies, a stage show of the Twenties. The "shimmy," another dance, was made popular by the show. Follies also denotes foolishness or a lapse in sobriety or common sense.

Volume I of the Stoddard Lectures (p 50) - one in a series of 15 travel guides written by John Stoddard in 1897.

Belasco (p 50) - David Belasco, a Broadway producer noted for his realistic sets.

Castle Rackrent (p 90) - Allusion to an 1801, Maria Edgeworth novel. It portrayed a young English woman taken to live in an Irish manor. Rackrent is a term for a landowner who raises his rent to extortionary levels.

Kant at his church steeple (p 93) - Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher given to gazing at a church steeple while thinking.

Merton College Library (p 96) - a library in Merton College, which is a division of Oxford University in England.

Adam study (p 96) - style of architecture resembling the classical ornamentation in Italy. Also a style of furniture from the 1700s. Resembles Sheraton except with more straight lines. It favored decorated surface such as inlaying, carving, and painting.

"...Platonic conception of himself..." (p 104) - Platonic love is an urge to create a union with the beautiful and higher ideals. In this case, Gatsby has created a persona for himself based on his idea of a perfect person and life.

"His father's business..." (p 104) - From Luke 2:49 "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" -From the King James version of the Bible

Madame de Maintenon (p 105) - The mistress of Louis XIV who demanded strict Christianity and devotion from the king. He secretly married her after the death of the Queen.

Trimalchio (p 105) - lavish host in The Satyricon, a Latin work by Petronius.

Hopalong Cassidy (p 181) - cowboy character created by Clarence E. Mulford in 1907. The book was not published till 1910, so its a little peculiar that Gatsby's copy was dated 1906.

James J. Hill (p 176) - a railroad tycoon who lived (1836-1916) in F. Scott Fitzgerald's hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota.

References

Most of the information for the allusions comes from the Webster's Third International Unabridged Dictionary and a note section in the back of the novel.

Bruccoli, Matthew J. "Explanatory Notes." The Great Gatsby New York: Scribner, 1925, (207-214).

Curator: Jillian Hurst