Autore: Francis Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby, written by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald, set in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in 1922, is about the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby knew Daisy from a romantic encounter in 1917 when he was not yet wealthy, and he is still deeply in love with her. When they meet again he is rich and impresses her with his extravagant lifestyle and wild parties. They begin an affair and, after a short time, Daisy’s husband, even though he is himself involved in an extramarital affair, becomes outraged by his wife’s infidelity. He confronts Gatsby and announces to his wife that Gatsby is a criminal whose fortune comes from bootlegging alcohol. This will lead to a tragic conclusion. The story explores themes of decadence, idealism, social upheaval, and excess, and creates a portrait of the Roaring Twenties. The volume includes a full biographical introduction about Fitzgerald, accurate footnotes; nine sections with comprehension, vocabulary and grammar activities; CAE-style tests for C1 level; some selectedhapters included in the audio; a final section of drama activities.

Benjamin Button was born under most unusual circumstances. At the ripe old age of seventy with a long smoke-coloured beard he found himself uncomfortably squashed into a hospital crib yearning for a cigar rather than warm milk. As the world moved forward he lived his life in reverse becoming younger and stronger much to the embarrassment of his family. The reader is carried dramatically through the various stages of his eventful existence as he goes to war, enters the business world, falls in love, has a son, goes to college and eventually slides back into babyhood. Although written in the 1920s, the story is still relevant today mirroring our obsession with age and appearance and ridiculing the social norms that condition our lives. This strange and haunting fable is written in the evocative and carefully constructed prose that made Fitzgerald one of the memorable voices in American literature.

In 2008 the story was made into a successful film by David Fincher starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

This volume is accompanied by notes and a wide range of learning activities to enable readers to enrich their vocabulary and practise language structures.