From the publisher’s description:
The story of how Fitzgerald wrote and published the book is fascinating. In The Making of "This Side of Paradise", James West studies the inception, composition, publication, and textual history of the novel. He traces its growth from its earliest version, entitled "The Romantic Egotist," to its final published form.
Based on preserved documentary evidence—fragments of "The Romantic Egotist," the manuscript of This Side of Paradise, surviving correspondence, and other papers—this volume blends the techniques of biographical, critical, and textual scholarship to tell the story of the making of the quintessential novel of the twenties.
West, James L. W., III (NHC Fellow, 1981–82). The Making of This Side of Paradise. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983. ISBN 0812278674.