Jillian Cantor on recasting an American classic in 'Beautiful Little Fools'

Good Reading Podcast

F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is an icon of American literature. But what if this timeless classic was told from a completely different perspective? Jillian Cantor reimagines the glittering world of the Jazz Age through the eyes of three of Fitzgerald's female characters, Daisy Buchanan, Daisy's best friend Jordan Baker, and Catherine McCoy, a suffragette fighting for women's rights and for the life of her sister Myrtle Wilson, trapped in an abusive marriage. Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, and ultimately the murder of a man driven by money, power, love and desire. This inspired reimagining of The Great Gatsby poses the question: who really killed Jay Gatsby? In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Jillian Cantor about her long-held fascination with The Great Gatsby, finding different points of view for a icon of American literature, and crossing the line from historical fiction to crime fiction.