Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
EAN: 9780553214703
Edition: Reprint
ISBN: 0553214705
Label: Bantam Classics
Manufacturer: Bantam Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 464
Publication Date: April 01, 1998
Publisher: Bantam Classics
Release Date: April 01, 1998
Studio: Bantam Classics
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Following the great critical and financial success of his first novel, This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Beautiful and the Damned in 1922. An immediate success upon its first publication, Fitzgerald's second novel is a dazzling portrait of love and life among the beautiful people. Through the story of two newlyweds, Anthony Patch of New York and Gloria Gilbert of Kansas City, Fitzgerald flawlessly captures the heady atmosphere and jaded values of the Jazz Age. Patch, expecting to become the sole heir to his grandfather's millions, embraces a life of endless parties and intellectual pretensions. In Gloria, he finds an exquisite ornament and a passionate lover. The couple whirls through days that mirror Fitzgerald's own--a fast life amid a smart set for which there is never enough cash. Beginning with wit and clever repartee, The Beautiful and the Damned quickly becomes a scathing chronicle of a dying marriage and a hedonistic society where beauty is all too fleeting. Through the character of Richard Caramel, a successful hack writer whose talent fails as he prospers, Fitzgerald caricatures himself. But today's readers will find an even more poignant self-portrait of Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda in Anthony and Gloria, a couple whose days of wine and roses fade quickly toward a tragic end.
Average Rating: 
Rating: -
The Beautiful and Damned is Fitzgerald's second novel and the title says it all.Anthony Patch and Gloria Gilbert are two self asorbed people who desire romantic love and they fall in love with each other. They have no desire for productive work and they desire lives of luxury. They receive allowances from their parents and Anthonys grandfather gives a little as well but Anthony has no desire to wotk and Gloria is obsessed with being an actress which irritates Anthony. Both are alcoholics which adds fuel to their self destructive situation. In the end ,Anthony becomes wealthy winning 30 million dollars by challenging hsi grandfathers will he is stricken from it despite being the only direct descendant but the money makes neither he or his wife happy. Their narcissism combines to damn them to misery despite their exterior beauty of which their wealth is a large part of.At times the book rambles into clever phrases that have no point and it is too loose at times but it is still a book worth reading though not quite as good as This Side of Paradise
Rating:  -
Some readers discover Fitzgerald by accident, by reputation or, perhaps in school. My exposure came via the first possibility through a worn paperback copy of 'The Crack Up' soon afterward I read a paperback semi-bio called 'Crazy Sundays, F Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood'. This was in the early Seventies and at that time I couldn't find anything in print and only found his books at yard sales and used book stores. I read Gatsby, Tender is the Night and even a collection of short stories reprinted from Fitzgerald's magazine writing. Now, over thirty years later I have re-read many of those books and I find his short stories mildly enjoyable and his novels, flowery and antique. Sure, you might say, they are old books however, I re-read my other favorites from my Seventies bookshelf: Sinclair Lewis and Mark Twain and find that their styles have aged very well by comparison (and of the two, only Lewis can be considered a contemporary, Twain is even older). What does this have to do this novel? It holds-up the best in the ways that his work generally has not held-up. Perhaps it's the themes or the biographical elements but either way, this book deserves a look if you have already read his other novels and are giving up on him!
Rating:  -
the great gatsby is a better novel. fitzgerald's writing is elegant, but manages to be accessible, but i just couldn't get into the characters. there was nothing about them that made me want to keep reading. i am way more patience with books than most, some people read a paragraph or chapter before deciding if they want to stick with a story...i gave this 200 pages before i put it down...life is too short to read books that are boring....
Rating: -
Store line is good but F. Scott is hard to read due to his run on sentences.
Rating:  -
Semi-autobiographical story that captures the essence of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and flamboyance. The characters care most about having a good time, no expense spared, even when it means living seriously above their means. The real story of Scott and Zelda, especially during their early marriage, is eerily similar in some ways, with Scott eventually dying of alocholism and Zelda ending up in an asylum.
The novel is truly captivating, especially if you want to know more about the glitter of New York City in the 1920's (the "CITY") and America life during that period in general.
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