The Beautiful and Damned (Modern Library) (Modern Library Classics)

by F . Scott Fitzgerald (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2002

  $3.44

• Used

  Paperback
  1998

  $3.44

  'The victor belongs to the spoils.' Fitzgerald's ironic epigraph to The Beautiful and Damned exemplifies his attitude toward the young rootless post-World War One generation who believed life to be meaningless and who pursued wealth despite its corrosive effect. Gloria and Anthony Patch party until money runs out; then their goal becomes Adam Patch's fortune. Gloria's beauty fades and Anthony's drinking takes its horrible toll. Fitzgerald here once again displays a wariness of the upper classes, 'an abiding distrust, an animosity, toward the leisure class - not the conviction of a revolutionist but the smouldering hatred of a peasant'.

• Used

  Hardcover
  1989

  $3.44

• New

  Paperback
  1999

  $20.04

  This is Fitzgerald's second novel, published in 1922. The story displays that 'touch of disaster' which is at the centre of his work. Young, beautiful and wealthy, Gloria and Anthony want their marriage to be a 'live, glamorous performance'. Seemingly perfectly matched, their love begins to deteriorate as each discovers imperfections in the other. In a desperate search for happiness, they spend recklessly and live riotously, until the final crackup comes. In his portrayal of individualfailure, Fitzgerald illustrates the corrupting power of money and the fleeting nature of beauty. He explores a preoccupying theme - the need for illusion and the tragedy that springs from its inevitable breakdown.