100 years ago today: "The Great Gatsby," by St. Paul native F. Scott Fitzgerald, hits store shelves

"The Great Gatsby" was first published 100 years ago today.

The big picture: "Gatsby" is the best-known work of St. Paul native author F. Scott Fitzgerald — and a frequent nominee for the title of greatest American novel.

The intrigue: A commercial failure at first, the book surged in popularity during World War II, when the U.S. government distributed it and other titles to soldiers.

• "The Great Gatsby" arrived after Germany and Japan surrendered, so "troops were more bored than ever," as Mental Floss recounted.

Between the lines: "Gatsby" takes place in New York, but the work is still deeply Minnesotan.

• The fictional Gatsby even briefly attended St. Olaf College.