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By F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published: 2010
"In the end, we all get what we want; but it’s not always what we dreamed of."
F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel, which brilliantly satirizes a doomed and glamorous marriage, anticipated the master stroke—The Great Gatsby—that would follow, and marks a key moment in the writer’s career. Would-be Jazz Age aristocrats Anthony and Gloria Patch embody the corrupt high society of 1920s New York: they are beautiful, shallow, pleasure-seeking, and vain. As presumptive heirs to a large fortune, they begin their married life by living well beyond their means. Their days are marked by endless drinking, dancing, luxury, and play. But when the expected inheritance is withheld, their lives become consumed with the pursuit of wealth, and their alliance begins to fall apart. Inspired in part by Fitzgerald's own tumultuous union with his wife Zelda, hauntingly rendered and keenly observed, these characters evoke a vivid portrait of a lost world: a city steeped in vice, a society without direction, and the rootless and decadent generation that inhabited it.
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“In the end, we all get what we want; but it’s not always what we dreamed of.”
The Beautiful and Damned
By F. Scott Fitzgerald
Discover a world of knowledge through our extensive collection of book summaries.
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was an American novelist and short story writer, celebrated for his vivid portrayal of the Jazz Age and his exploration of the American Dream. He is best known for his iconic novel 'The Great Gatsby,' which critiques the moral decay and excesses of 1920s America. Other notable works include 'This Side of Paradise,' 'Tender Is the Night,' and 'The Beautiful and Damned.' Fitzgerald's writing is characterized by lyrical prose, emotional depth, and a keen social insight, often reflecting the disillusionment of post-World War I society.
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