In 1860, a very strange event took place: Benjamin Button was born. While a baby’s birth may not seem like anything out of the ordinary, Benjamin’s was indeed remarkable, for he was born an old man. Complete with a long beard and white hair, the infant Benjamin is already talking with his father on the day he makes his debut in the world. Realizing that he is actually aging in reverse, Benjamin relies on dyeing his hair and shaving his beard during his childhood and youth to try and appear at least close to his biological age. No matter how well he might hide his secret, however, Benjamin knows that life will always be very different for him. As he grows older (and younger), he meets and falls in love with a beautiful woman, Hildegarde, who happens to be attracted to older men. Benjamin and Hildegarde marry and are happy—but only for a time. As Hildegarde grows older, Benjamin’s increasingly young heart yearns for freedom. Will this very strange man ever be able to find happiness even as he goes through life backwards? An odd and intriguing fable, this 1922 tale is one of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most unusual and memorable.