The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

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Title: The Diamond as Big as the Ritz
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published: 1922 (in Tales of the Jazz Age)
Genre: Satire / Fantasy / Social commentary
Summary:

The story follows John T. Unger, a young man from a middle-class family in Hades, Mississippi, who is sent to an exclusive boarding school. During the summer vacation, his wealthy classmate Percy Washington invites him to visit his home in Montana. On the train, Percy boasts that his father owns “the only diamond bigger than the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.”
John thinks Percy is joking—until they arrive at Percy’s home, a secret mountain estate made entirely of diamond, hidden from the world. The Washington family—Percy’s father Braddock Washington, mother, and sister Kismine—live in unbelievable luxury. The estate is guarded by servants and surrounded by mountains that conceal it from outsiders.

John quickly falls in love with the beautiful Kismine, who tells him the truth: her family’s fortune is built on a diamond mountain, and to keep it secret, everyone who visits is killed so the secret will never be revealed. Horrified, John realizes he is trapped.

When an air raid from the U.S. military discovers the mountain, Braddock Washington tries to bribe God by offering Him the world’s largest diamond. His plea fails, and the estate is bombed and destroyed. The mountain collapses, and the Washingtons perish—except for John, Kismine, and her sister Jasmine, who escape.

In the end, the three survivors find themselves penniless and homeless, with Kismine regretting that she didn’t bring her jewels. John reflects sadly on the fall of unimaginable wealth and the emptiness behind it.


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