by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Author)
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The Beautiful and Damned, F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel, tells the story of Anthony Patch, a 1920s socialite and presumptive heir to a tycoon's fortune, the relationship with his wife Gloria, his service in the army, and alcoholism. Anthony and Gloria are young and gorgeous, rich and leisured and they dedicate their lives to the pursuit of happiness and we follow the intimate story of their marriage as it disintegrates under the weight of their expectations, fuelled by dissipation, jealousy and aimlessness. Fitzgerald skilfully portrays the Eastern elite as the Jazz Age begins its ascent, engulfing all classes into what will soon be known as Caf Society. As with all of his other novels, it is a brilliant character study and is also an early account of the complexities of marriage and intimacy, largely based on Fitzgerald's relationship and marriage with Zelda Fitzgerald. With an afterword by Ned Halley.Author Biography
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was born into a well-to-do Catholic family living in St Paul, Minnesota. At Princeton University he decided to become a writer, leaving without graduating in 1917 to join the army when America entered the First World War. Believing he would be killed at the front, he hurriedly wrote his first novel, but was not sent to Europe. His first novel, This Side of Paradise (1920) was published to great critical acclaim. He married Zelda Sayle a week after the publication and they embarked on an extravagant lifestyle in New York, which provided much material for The Beautiful and Damned (1922). By this time their daughter, Scottie, had been born, Scott and Zelda had moved to Long Island, which was to be the setting of Fitzgerald's next novel, The Great Gatsby (1925). His fourth novel Tender is the Night, was published in 1934