The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz is a satirical novella by F. Scott Fitzgerald, first published in 1922 as part of his collection Tales of the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald—one of the central literary voices of the American modernist era and a chronicler of wealth, illusion, and moral dislocation—draws on his cultural insight into the excesses of the early 20th century to critique American capitalism and privilege. Blending elements of fantasy, adventure, and social satire, the story follows Mississippi schoolboy John T. Unger as he visits the lavish, secret estate of the impossibly wealthy Washington family. The novella explores themes including Wealth as a Destructive Force, The Illusion of the American Dream, and The Role of Exploitation in Building and Maintaining Wealth. 

This guide is based on the digitized version of The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and Other Stories, published in 1962 by Penguin Modern Classics.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of racism, physical abuse, emotional abuse, death, and death by suicide.

Language Note: The Diamond as Big as the Ritz uses racist slurs to refer to Black Americans. This study guide reproduces this language only in quotations.

Plot Summary

The novella follows 16-year-old John T. Unger, a boy from the small Mississippi River town of Hades, whose parents send him to the elite St. Midas’s School near Boston. There he befriends Percy Washington, a quiet and well-dressed student who keeps to himself but gradually forms a close connection with John. Late in their second year, Percy invites John to spend the summer at his home, and John accepts. During their train journey, Percy reveals that his father is extraordinarily wealthy and claims that the family possesses a diamond bigger than the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Although astonished, John refrains from questioning the claim directly.

The boys get off the train at the isolated Montana village of Fish, where the local men silently observe the rare arrival of the train. A buggy transports them into the mountains, where they meet a lavishly outfitted automobile that takes them up a treacherous, hidden path accessible only to those who know it. When the road becomes too dangerous, cables lift the car over a knife-edge ridge before lowering it gently onto the Washingtons’ private land—five square miles that have been concealed from all government surveys through generations of manipulation, secrecy, and technological interference. Percy warns John that airplanes are the only real threat to the estate, and the family has had to shoot down previous pilots who accidentally discovered it.

The car delivers them to a magnificent chateau perched beside a lake, and John is overwhelmed by the beauty and luxury of the Washingtons’ home. He meets Percy’s mother, Mrs. Washington, and later explores a series of spectacular rooms filled with precious materials, elaborate designs, and surreal architectural features. At dinner, he meets Jasmine, Percy’s older sister, and briefly glimpses their younger sister, Kismine. The overwhelming luxury causes John to fall asleep at the table; people undress him and place him in bed. When he wakes up later, Percy explains that the mountain beneath the chateau is a single massive diamond.

The next morning, Percy recounts the family history. His grandfather, Fitz-Norman Culpepper Washington, a descendant of George Washington, discovered the diamond shortly after the Civil War when he followed a squirrel carrying a gem. Unable to extract or sell the diamond legally without destabilizing global markets, he established a secret empire, mining small pieces of the mountain while preventing surveyors and outsiders from discovering the truth. He brought formerly enslaved people west with him and, to keep them working for him, told them that the Confederacy had won the war. 

Over decades, Fitz-Norman sold diamonds covertly throughout the world, amassing immense wealth. Eventually, he closed the mine and preserved the remainder of the diamond to protect the family’s position. His son, Braddock Tarleton Washington, continued maintaining the family’s secrecy, distributing their wealth in disguised forms like radium, stored under aliases in banks worldwide.

Later that day, Percy and his father give John a tour of the estate. Braddock Washington shows him a concealed pit holding about two dozen aviators who flew too close to the property. The prisoners shout angrily, and Braddock explains that they cannot be released because they pose a threat to the estate’s secrecy. He states that he has offered to kill them painlessly or care for them permanently underground, but they refuse alternatives.

Over the following weeks, John spends his days becoming acquainted with the family. He becomes infatuated with Kismine, and the two begin a romantic relationship. One afternoon, during a conversation in a secluded grove, Kismine reveals casually that previous guests who visited the estate were murdered before leaving to ensure the family’s continued secrecy. Horrified, John confronts her, but she explains that she grew up accepting the practice. John declares that he will escape. He initially refuses to take her with him, but she insists they must leave together.

That night, John awakens to noises outside his door and narrowly escapes what he assumes is an attempt on his life. He goes to find Kismine, who tells him that planes are approaching. The estate’s anti-aircraft guns begin firing, and Kismine leads him to the roof garden to watch. A bombardment follows, destroying the quarters where those still enslaved by the family live, and damaging other areas of the property. 

Realizing the danger, John persuades Kismine to gather Jasmine and flee with him into the mountains. The three climb to a wooded area overlooking the estate. From that vantage point, they witness Braddock Washington attempting to bargain with God. He brings an enormous cut diamond onto a ridge and offers it to divine power in exchange for the estate’s preservation. Receiving no sign, he retreats into a secret chamber inside the mountain. Moments later, a massive explosion destroys the entire diamond mountain, annihilating the Washington family, the remaining enslaved people, the prisoners, and the attacking aviators. The chateau also collapses into rubble.

John, Kismine, and Jasmine escape. They travel to the estate’s edge and camp for the night. When Kismine reveals that she accidentally brought rhinestones instead of diamonds, John realizes they will not be wealthy. They decide to return to John’s hometown of Hades, where they will start a modest new life.