Tender is the Night / The Last Tycoon

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

With an Introduction and Notes by Henry Claridge, Senior Lecturer, School of English, University of Kent at Canterbury.

Tender is the Night is a story set in the hedonistic high society of Europe during the ‘Roaring Twenties’. A wealthy schizophrenic, Nicole Warren, falls in love with Dick Diver - her psychiatrist. The resulting saga of the Divers’ troubled marriage, and their circle of friends, includes a cast of aristocratic and beautiful people, unhappy love affairs, a duel, incest, and the problems inherent in the possession of great wealth. Despite cataloguing a maelstrom of interpersonal conflict, Tender is the Night has a poignancy and warmth that springs from the quality of Fitzgerald's writing and the tragic personal experiences on which the novel is based.

Six years separate Tender is the Night and The Last Tycoon, the novel Fitzgerald left unfinished at his death in December 1940. Fitzgerald lived in Hollywood more or less continuously from July 1937 until his death, and a novel about the film industry at the height of 'the studio system' centred on the working life of a top producer was begun in 1939. Even in its incomplete state The Last Tycoon remains the greatest American novel about Hollywood and contains some of Fitzgerald's most brilliant writing.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Literature, American, Historical Fiction, Unfinished, American Fiction

413 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1941

About the author

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age, a term he popularized in his short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. During his lifetime, he published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short stories. Although he achieved temporary popular success and fortune in the 1920s, Fitzgerald received critical acclaim only after his death and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.
Born into a middle-class family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald was raised primarily in New York state. He attended Princeton University where he befriended future literary critic Edmund Wilson. Owing to a failed romantic relationship with Chicago socialite Ginevra King, he dropped out in 1917 to join the United States Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, a Southern debutante who belonged to Montgomery's exclusive country-club set. Although she initially rejected Fitzgerald's marriage proposal due to his lack of financial prospects, Zelda agreed to marry him after he published the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920). The novel became a cultural sensation and cemented his reputation as one of the eminent writers of the decade.
His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him further into the cultural elite. To maintain his affluent lifestyle, he wrote numerous stories for popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire. During this period, Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he befriended modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, including Ernest Hemingway. His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), received generally favorable reviews but was a commercial failure, selling fewer than 23,000 copies in its first year. Despite its lackluster debut, The Great Gatsby is now hailed by some literary critics as the "Great American Novel". Following the deterioration of his wife's mental health and her placement in a mental institute for schizophrenia, Fitzgerald completed his final novel, Tender Is the Night (1934).
Struggling financially because of the declining popularity of his works during the Great Depression, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood, where he embarked upon an unsuccessful career as a screenwriter. While living in Hollywood, he cohabited with columnist Sheilah Graham, his final companion before his death. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he attained sobriety only to die of a heart attack in 1940, at 44. His friend Edmund Wilson edited and published an unfinished fifth novel, The Last Tycoon (1941), after Fitzgerald's death. In 1993, a new edition was published as The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli.

Reviews

[Fateme · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 is more honest

[Paloma · Rating 2 out of 5]

So... honestly, I did not finish the whole book, but I did finish Tender is the Night, which was the novel I originally wanted to read. As indicated on my updates, reading Fitzgerald is hard for me. Like hard (read The Great Gatsby a couple of years ago). And I know he's recognized as one of the best writers of the 20th century but I just didn't connect. I had so many expectations on Tender, because I've read quotes and read that it was one of his best novels, but in the end... it didn't work out for me. All the way through the reading, Borge's words came to my mind If you don't like a book, don't read it... reading is like happiness and you can't force anyone to be happy ...

So the plot is quite simple. Young American actress Rosemary H is vacationing at the French Riviera with her mother, around the 1920s, and there she meets the Drivers -Dick and Nicole. They are rich, powerful and entertain their American friends in Europe. Rosemary becomes infatuated with Dick, who is a psychiatrist and he feels flattered by this but he is in love with Nicole. Later we learn that the beautiful and sophisticated Mrs. Driver is sick -schizophrenic. Dick married her because she fell in love with her and though as a trained doctor he could help her to improve. Before anything happens, Rosemary leaves Europe and will meet Dick years later when they actually have an affair. After this, Dick begins to melt down -questioning the life he has led, the economic situation he is in (thanks to Nicole's money), his profession. As he begins to fall so Nicole begins to rise.

I struggled with the story, with the book, with the language. I could never really feel the point of the story and could not sympathize with the characters which are by no means dull but perhaps too superficial. And yes, well of course, that was the point as I understand Fitzgerald wanted to paint a portrait of the expat American society in Paris... conventional, pretentious. But something didn't just click. I am aware this is just a very personal opinion and by no means I am a professional reviewer and perhaps this book didn't get to me as I lack the background of the society Fitzgerald recreates. But well, it was hard. It's like the fourth book I have not finished in my life.

The other novel included in the book, The Last Tycoon, was difficult for me to. The story of a film producers and... that was it. I read over 50 pages but as I read this novel is unfinished I decided it was not worth it.

[Tanabrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

In questa mia seconda lettura di "Tenera è la notte" posso dire di avere apprezzato maggiormente il libro. Una sua enorme qualità è la sua complessità, l'intreccio di tematiche che ne fanno un romanzo completo.
Due anni fa ero rimasto affascinato dalla descrizione della decadenza dell'alta società americana nel primo dopoguerra, e dalle situazioni più vistose della storia d'amore tra Dick e Nicole.
In questa lettura invece mi sono scoperto intrigato dal personaggio di Dick.
Il ragazzo cresciuto dal basso, grazie al proprio cervello e agli insegnamenti del padre, il brillante studente di medicina, l'astro nascente della psichiatria, che finisce innamorato di una paziente e alla fine la sposa, consapevole di devolvere la sua intera vita alla sua cura, un lavoro a tempo pieno che spesso si sovrapporrà al ruolo di marito.
Una situazione complicata, per l'orgoglio di Dick, dall'enorme ricchezza di lei: il fatto che lui abbia insistito per mantenere la propria indipendenza, comprando da solo le proprie cose e addirittura evidenziando come una piccola parte del terreno della loro casa e il capanno dove lavora siano stati comprati con i suoi soldi, le uniche parti della proprietà che può sentire sue.

I due hanno dei figli, ma questi vengono visti come figure marginali sia nel libro che dai genitori stessi. Probabilmente anche come figure negative, visti gli effetti delle gravidanze su Nicole. Solo alla fine un Dick in crisi cercherà di avvicinarsi il più possibile a loro, in cerca di un senso.

Ecco, la vita di Dick e la sua discesa sono trattati benissimo.
Il brillante medico, il miliardario benvoluto da tutti, il padrone di casa perfetto, il fulcro della bella vita degli Americani in giro per il mondo.
E poi l'arrivo di Rosemary, inizialmente privo di conseguenze quando inserito in un contesto ancora funzionante come la vita coniugale dei Divers nel primo libro.
Ma con il ritornare delle crisi della moglie, e il ripresentarsi della giovane attrice, la vita di Dick comincia a sgretolarsi. I suoi orizzonti sono sempre più ridotti a causa delle scelte che ha compiuto in passato, e ora non è più in grado di rimettersi in carreggiata. Si trova a metà strada tra almeno due vite, senza riuscire a calarsi bene in nessuna delle due.

E quando Nicole finalmente sembra guarita, a quel punto il marito-medico diviene una figura inutile, un peso che le ricorda tutto ciò da cui è uscita. Un uomo che anzi, con la sua crescente cupezza, sembra quasi rinfacciare gli anni trascorsi insieme e le possibilità mancate.
Un uomo incamminato in una spirale discendente che sembra senza fine.

Ascesa e rovina di Dick Divers, potrebbe essere un sottotitolo a questo libro, e infatti uno dei titoli provvisori della storia non ci va troppo lontano, "la storia dell'ubriaco".


Invece di "The last Tycoon" non sapevo niente. L'ultimo lavoro di Fitzgerald, rimasto incompiuto a causa della sua morte.
Dopo averlo letto mi ritrovo a concordare con le critiche riportate nelle note al libro, le premesse erano ottime e sarebbe potuto essere un altro capolavoro. E' davvero un peccato che non si potrà mai sapere come sarebbe effettivamente venuta fuori questa storia ambientata a Hollywood dopo la Depressione, con questo produttore eroico, le storie d'amore con la misteriosa Kathleen e la giovane Cecilia, la rivalità col padre di lei, i risvolti sociali e politici previsti...

[Sophie Cayeux · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading Fitzgerald’s prose. I love his sentences, the way he talks about his characters. It’s like spending time having an enchanting conversation.

[Maria Lianou · Rating 2 out of 5]

It will be a while to come back to F. Scott Fitzgerald, but I will persist. I want to read his first novel, This Side of Paradise.

Truth to be told, while talking about Tender is the Night and The Last Tycoon, I found it hard to finish this book. Partly it was my mood, partly it was the stories. I failed to engage with the stories and the characters behind them. Especially with The Last Tycoon. It was so boring. Tender is the Night was engaging at times and read it with interest, but still, at times I felt that the storytelling was quite flat.

I wouldn't recommend to start your acquaintance with Fitzgerald's writing with this book. Maybe, try The Great Gatsby first.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tender is the Night

'For almost the first time in her life she was sorry for him - it is hard for those who have once been mentally afflicted to be sorry for those who are well, and though Nicole often paid lip-service to the fact that he had led her back to the world she had forfeited, she had thought of him really as an inexhaustable energy, incapable of fatigue - she forgot the troubles she caused him at the moment when she forgot the troubles of her own that had propmted her. That he no longer controlled her - did he know that?'

Fitzgerald considered Tender is the Night to be his greatest work - a sentiment I'd have to agree with. While The Great Gatsby is certainly his most famous, it reads like a weighted scale, in which Daisy's paper thin characterisation can be scrunched up and cast aside in favour of Gatsby's. Fitzgerald finds the balance and depth of his characters in Tender is the Night, exploring the dissolution of a marriage between Dick and Nicole Driver. Fitzgerald empathises with both Dick and Nicole, to varying degrees. Fitzgerald poured a lot of himself into Tender is the Night. He wrote it whilst staying nearby his wife Zelda, whilst she was being treated in hospital for her schizophrenia. Knowing this, the character of Nicole and her triumphant character arc certainly seems influenced by Zelda.

I read the original 1934 edition of the novel, which opens from Rosemary's point of view and observes the Drivers from afar, as a glamourous couple. Although I can understand the revisions made, and I probably speak from a position of bias having only read the original - I think the original version of the text allows the reader to slowly adjust to the alluring world of the Drivers' alongside Rosemary, before the allusion is shattered by the sobering reality of the Drivers' failing marriage. Fitzgerald certainly spends a long time on his introduction to the novel, but it's a languid read and adds a lot of worldbuilding to the novel without feeling overwhelming - resulting in a comprehensive trifecta of characters who feel real and supported by secondary characters, such as Rosemary and her relationship with her mother. Also, the long introduction adds to the shock of the flashbacks and the reveal of Nicole's abuse.

The novel explores mental illness through Nicole and Dick. Nicole's mental breakdown occurs because of the abuse she endured at the hands of her father, resulting in her marrying Dick, her psychiatrist, who develops Florence Nightingale syndrome when treating her. Additionally, Dick slowly descends into alcoholism as his marriage to Nicole deteriorates. Dick's alcoholism reflects Fitzgerald's own, as Nicole's mental illness (unspecified in the novel but symptomatic of schizophrenia) reflects Zelda's. If we read the character of Nicole through the lens of Zelda's hospitalisation, Nicole's triumphant character arc and happy ending seems like a love letter to Zelda. In tandem, Dick's characterisation could read as an expression of all of Fitzgerald's personal anxieties. Obviously, even without this context, the characters stand on their own two feet as well developed and interesting.

Tender is the Night is arguably a feminist novel, the deals with issues such as gender roles, the male gaze and women with wealth. Dick serves a dual role as Nicole's doctor and husband, which obviously would never be allowed in contemporary society, but is reminiscent of other fictionary relationships such as in The Yellow Wallpaper and Jane Eyre. However, through both of these roles he is able to exert power and influence over her. Nicole's sister Baby is the one who objects to their marriage, feeling that Dick is only with Nicole because of her status as an heiress. Dick grew up poor, which explains his economic anxiety and obsession with ownership. Baby is the only character to go toe-to-toe with Dick, particularly in the scenes where they discuss the business aspect of their relationship, when Nicole invests in a psychiatric clinic for Dick. Baby negotiates with Dick as an equal, because she is in possession of her family's wealth - which allows her to wield power equal to him despite her gender. Money litters the themes of the novel, like most of American literature, but in a perhaps more subtle way than in The Great Gatsby, for example. However, the roaring twenties and lifestyle of the bourgeoisie is still firmly where the story is primarily set, and where Fitzgerald feels his most comfortable.

As Nicole begins to recover mentally, her need for Dick as a doctor and a husband diminishes simultaneously. The novel concludes with them divorcing and Nicole happily remarrying, whereas Dick ends up as a doctor in small town America - hardly the apex of success he seemed obssessed with, particularly as he had an affair with Rosemary and squandered his marriage. Dick seems attracted to Rosemary's naive view of him, but even she achieves success as an actress and begins to recognise his mediocrity towards the conclusion of the novel in their final meetings. Even Rosemary's wide-eyed characterisation is not done judgementally, but reflects the innocence of her youth and the world her mother has plunged her into for her own selfish pursuit of class mobility. Fitzgerald seperates his own narrative voice from that of his characters', and it's only through Dick that these misogynistic, infantilising descriptions of Rosemary surface - reflecting his own worldview rather than Rosemary's characterisation. In Tender is the Night, both of Fitzgerald's women succeed (one in her career and the other in her personal life) whereas Dick's ending seems to be a punishment from Fitzgerald for his morally inert behaviour.

Fitzgerald explores race relations in America through the murder of Jules Peterson, a black man, whose body is found in Rosemary's hotel room. Dick helps her to remove it, so that her career is not implicated by the news. The implication of an interracial relationship would destroy Rosemary's blossoming acting career - which speaks to the deeply racist attitudes of America at the time.

Ultimately, Tender is the Night is Fitzgerald's richest novel emotionally and psychologically, supported by well-developed and complex characters, beautiful writing and a gripping non-linear plot.

The Last Tycoon

'Tout passe. L'art robuste
Seul à l'éternité.

Fitzgerald's final novel, The Last Tycoon remained unfinished when he died. It explores 1930s Hollywood and blends real life people with fictional characters, themselves based on other real people, leading to it being regarded as a roman à clef. The main character of the novel is Monroe Stahr, based on Irving Thalberg.

The Last Tycoon is certainly the most business orientated of Fitzgerald's, as the reader is led through Stahr's everyday business interractions and his workoholism. Unlike Dick Driver, who we are told is a psychiatrist but we rarely see working in Tender is the Night, Stahr's characterisation is placed primarily around his work, as the titular last tycoon in an era that no longer needs heroes, because they are created on screen by a revolving team of writers. Fitzgerald's hollow presentation of screenwriting reflects his own experiences with the job, which he performed to make money once his popularity as an author declined following the 1920s. In The Last Tycoon, he presents Hollywood as a morally bankrupt place, revolving around money and egos. Stahr's more tender moments come in his interractions with Kathleen, a relationship I found myself invested in despite the few scenes they shared together in the novel as it was written so far. The outline of the novel sounds interesting, and I'd like to share Fitzgerald's sentiments that it would be a return to form commercially for him, but it's hard to judge something unfinished. Nevertheless, it made for an interesting read.

[Matush Brosman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is for 'Tender is the Night' only. 'The Last Tycoon' would need to be incomparably better in order for me to care...

Btw there is one subtle spoiler. But I think you will realize it only after you have read the book.

Here goes:

I tend to get angry.
I tend to get angry with the books and now I feel the need to profoundly apologize to the guy long time dead. It is not his fault. It's mine. Makes one feel in control, y'know?

Reading a book is always a personal experience and personally I experience very specific feelings of boredom, reading through various mischief performed by Dick and Natalie. Which can be attributed to (in my opinion) overdescribing the characters in a not-so-much-story-related way. Those people do it, early twentieth century authors. And I get bored, and I lost focus.

They usually make up for it later, storywise I mean, twist here and turn there, as the technique is usually handled very well. I didn't care for any of the characters until she turned that wheel. It was a promise towards more interesting future.

Something is wrong with me, though. Such a writing, such literary excellence, and regardless I continue to dwell on a story. Where is my story?

Nothing out of ordinary, even less than that, course of a normal marriage, marriage written in bold due to specific condition of a better half, yet the existence of the story fails to justify its existence. Why did you write this, Mr F. Scott?

What is to learn from this, what is to be inspired about. What is the added value of the characters, what is the twist if not overly obvious, what am I to expect to satiate my hunger for excitement and awe that great stories can fulfill?

Great Gatsby had a plot.
This
Does not.

But the characters have money.

It's like a piece of crap wrapped in gold, overcooked meal on a fancy plate. Chinese fabric with a swoosh on it, causing the piece of clothing made of it to have too high of a number on a price tag.

Your words are worth a ton, your story - well, I leave it to capture another reader's heart. Maybe I am too young for this shit.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desafio de 2025- Janeiro- Romance de verão

Resolvi fazer um desafio de leitura para 2025 e assim ampliar um pouco as minhas leituras, deu para perceber que não terminei esse livro em janeiro, mas não estou tão preocupada em terminar o livro no mês do desafio, só que quando 2025 acabar quero ter acabado todos os livros. Isso é uma forma de me desafiar a terminar leituras antigas e a explorar novas leituras que ás vezes deixo para trás. Cada mês é um tema diferente, janeiro foi o verão. Mas um adendo: Tender is the night não é de verão, percebi isso lendo o livro.

Suave é a noite é bem interessante, mas me fez perceber que não gosto do Fitzgerald. Gostei muito de O grande Gatsby, mas esse daqui não me convenceu muito. Achei os personagens um pouco dispersos, parece que não tem um destino, nem nada, me deixou um pouco confusa. A prosa do Fitzgerald é bem tranquila, mas não me cativou e pelo jeito muita gente pensa igual. Mas ainda bem que escolhi esse para o desafio, porque eu não leria isso sem me desafiar.

[Mattie Luster · Rating 5 out of 5]

tender is the night is absolutely fitzgerald’s best novel, but the last tycoon would have overthrown that in a heartbeat had he been able to finish it. by far his best work and i’ll forever be in remorse that nobody will get to read the ending fitzgerald would’ve carried out

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tender is the Night: 2 stars
The Last Tycoon: 4 stars

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such great writing but too melancholy for me!

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

Tender is the Night: 3,5*
The Last Tycoon: 3*

[Alaa Abdel-Rahman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll be quite short with this review: I know how grand an author Fitzgerald is but my God, does he know how to elongate a story without merit! I couldn't get past page number 74 in the first book and to be quite frank, the description he uses to flesh out his characters and the events surrounding them makes for a very boring and slow-paced story telling. These are one of the books that you could use in English lit. classes as a "What Not To Do When Telling A Story". Fitzgerald's style is one of those styles where once you get exposed to, you need to put it aside for a long while lest it numbs your mind, kills your soul and harden your heart towards reading and enjoying books.

[Sarah Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written tale that really depicts the inter-twined lives of its characters in an engrossing way, giving depth and compassion for those who initially seem so surface and shallow.
It is a pity that The Last Tycoon remained unfinished as it drew me in with an engaging portrayal of the film world at its conception.

[Amity Towers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book delving into the difficulties of love and wealth and the fragility of the mind of what at first seem to be charismatic, perfect characters of the 1920's-30s. Even with wealth and seemingly endless leisure, everyone hides dark secrets and no one is truly happy.

[Lorena · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of the Fitzgeralds in this story. A very human tale, indeed, on how two people stop being in love with each other.

[M.J. Jandermark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way Fitzgerald writes (the language he uses) is going to stay with me for a long time.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tender is the Night by Scot F. Fitzgerald
Flamboyant story, included by The Modern Library among the best forty novels of the last century

After East of Eden and the pleasant surprise of yesterday, here comes another adaptation that intriguingly surpasses the original.
For this shallow reader.
It ought to be embarrassing to confess to such superficiality, preferring short versions to the accepted masterpiece.
In a way, it brings to mind the comedy series Seinfeld, where procrastinating loafers speak about reading a book:

- Why read it? Wait for the movie…
- In the same regrettable manner, I am looking at the perspective of reading cartoonish tales based on Catch 22…I am jesting…I hope
Jocularity aside, both East of Eden and Tender is the Night had been less than mesmerizing experiences, at full length.
Part of the reason was that the storyline ventures into side alleys that loose purpose and make this indolent reader forget some of the characters and their background
- Where did this dead “negro” –the word used at the time- come from?
- How did he end up in Rosemary’s bed?

Obviously, for an attentive reader, all this adds to the delight of going through the saga, with more personages and flamboyant stings, adventures, happenings and surprise all making a book a page turner.
But this is a note on my view and it is not supposed to influence anyone…for that, professional critics and scholars are advised.

The BBC production made more sense and where it dropped pages that could have been gratifying, it brings in limpidity.
All this structure and succinctness has helped me better understand and fallow the various playboys- Tommy Barban- or duelists.

I understand that the novel was largely inspired, in its various aspects and characters from the real life of the author.
Zelda had various breakdowns and at least one affair, the same way as Scott F. Fitzgerald had an exceptional relationship with an actress.
And this is part of the repugnant side of the tale:

- Not only Dick Diver had love affairs with teenage girls, but the writer as well
- Yes, in those days they did not have statutory rape and the moeurs were different, but still, that does not make this aspect virtuous…
In fact, Rosemary Hoyt makes this point and reproaches Dick – I guess the name was also rather innocent at that time- the fact that he married Nicole when she was just sixteen and very rich and seduced the actress herself when she was just one year older.

This psychoanalytical part- Dick is a psychologist- has reminded me of Kafka’s Dick by Alan Bennett, where they talk about Fitzgerald and his…small penis.
Hemingway had this story, about Zelda, her husband and their view on the matter:

"Finally when we were eating the cherry tart and had a last carafe of wine he said, 'You know I never slept with anyone except Zelda.'

'No, I didn't.'
'I thought I'd told you.'
'No. You told me a lot of things but not that.'
'That is what I want to ask you about.'
'Good. Go on.'

'Zelda said that the way I was built I could never make any woman happy and that was what upset her originally. [This conversation was held somewhat after what Hemingway describes as "what was then called her first nervous breakdown."] She said it was a matter of measurements. I have never felt the same since she said that and I have to know truly.'

'Come out to the office,' I said.

'Where is the office?'
'Le water," [the men's room] I said.
We came back into the room and sat down at the table.

'You're perfectly fine,' I said. 'You are O.K. There's nothing wrong with you. You look at yourself from above and you look foreshortened. Go over to the Louvre and look at the people in the statues and then go home and look at yourself in the mirror in profile.'

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review title: The Unfinished Fitzgerald

Like Charles Dickens's The Mystery of Edwin Drood, F. Scott Fitzgerald's final novel remained unfinished as each died before he could finish his last novel, and each novel represented a potential new departure that sadly each man was unable to finish because they died much too young. What is here of is barely a novel but earns three stars for the potential to be even stronger if it's author had been strong enough to live long enough to finish it.

Written as Fitzgerald made a futile attempt to write for movies, Tycoon tells the story of Morgan Stahr as a studio man making movies as the last individualist in the studio system. While the synopsis of the unfinished bit, based on Fitzgerald's notes, suggests that Stahr would make bad decisions including turning against his business counterpart to the extent of hiring a hit man to murder him, in the finished part he is as sympathetic, likeable, and competent a character as Fitzgerald ever wrote. The chapter that walks through a day in his life making snap decisions on productions, handling writers, directors, and actors with tact, wit, and intelligence, Is a fascinating presentation of mid 1930s Hollywood that has the sheen of reality.

The shifting focus of narration between the first person perspective of Stahr's business counterpart's daughter and an apparently omniscient third person isn't handled well,and probably would have been smoothed out in editing had the author lived. The autobiographical elements so strong in most of his earlier works are toned down here, as at this point in his life Fitzgerald was living alone in Hollywood with Zelda in an asylum in North Carolina, and while they communicated via frequent letters, he was living essentially a new life. Never artistically successful as a screenwriter, even though it paid well enough to support Zelda's expensive mental health care, you can feel the frustration of the writers in this treatment, even as none seems to represent Fitzgerald's character.

David Brown's biography is an excellent introduction to Fitzgerald's novels and life, including his sad last ending. Another treatment is Stuart O'Nan's fictional West of Sunset, which is the novel that set me off on this thread of reading Fitzgerald's life and writing. I am glad to have done it, but find the life more tragically interesting than his writing beyond the artistic triumph of The Great Gatsby. While art may be born in tragedy, Fitzgerald's moral, emotional and spiritual life were so tragic they fractured his art and his life, leaving his life as unfinished as his art. The Unfinished Fitzgerald is the greatest tragedy.

(I read and reviewed Tender is the Night in a separate edition.)

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tender is the Night was Fitzgerald’s last completed novel and is about Dick and Nicole Diver, Americans living in Europe in the middle of the 1920s. I really enjoyed this, it has all of the elements I love about Fitzgerald’s writing including lyrical prose, vivid description and Fitzgerald really captures the feel of the 1929s. However, I think Fitzgerald’s greatest strength is his characters and depictions of relationships, especially failed or failing relationships or people who should not really be together in the first place. This book has a sense of fatalism about it and tragedy of the central character Dick. The narrative structure is also very interesting and different to other Fitzgerald novels in that we start with an actress Rosemary arriving in France and meeting the Divers and realising all is not as it seems then we go back in time to see how the Divers met and married before going forward in time again. This is easily Fitzgerald’s second best novel after Great Gatsby

This volume also contains the finished parts of The Last Tycoon, the novel Fitzgerald was writing when he died, it is a shame this is not completed because it is a fascinating look at the film industry and Hollywood during the 20s and 30s and judging by the synopsis at the end based on the notes and letters which suggests how the story would unfold I think it would have been very exciting to read the finished version.

[Laura Jurjane Moosgaard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a tough read for me. I'm a stubborn reader - if I have picked up a book, I WILL finish it, but with this one I was really struggling.

It certainly hasn't aged well - sexism stretches all through the book, both in Tender is the Night and The Last Tycoon ranging from ignorant & mild to hard and unforgivable. Sometimes it's acceptable in books - when they describe a certain time or a character, but in this one it actually felt like the author's personal opinion. Time after time I would exclaim some of the lines out loud just because of how ridiculous they were - both sexist, racist, and somewhat homophobic. Different times, ey?

It wasn't ALL bad, however, and I did end up mildly enjoying The Last Tycoon, although I was perfectly fine with it not being finished and us getting a quick walk-through into what would have been.

In Tender is the Night, I got a sense that the author was taking the inspiration from his own experience with his wife's mental illness, and I found that somewhat fascinating, albeit sad/tragic.

All in all - it will probably be a while until I pick up Fitzgerald again, and it saddens me, because I thought of him as "one of the cool guys", especially after having read The Great Gatsby which I enjoyed very much.

[Cinderella · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story I read in this collection was “The Last Tycoon.” Honestly, it breaks my heart that this novel was not completed. Fitzgerald really had a great story that was building up to something narratively and with a lot of meaning. It would have been great to have read the novel in its completion than the summary that was provided at the end based on his notes. Compared to Nathanael West’s “The Day of Locust,” this story really went in through the depths of Hollywood and its empire through two sparring partners, practically like father and son, Monroe Stahr and Pat Brady. I would have liked to have read about how their relationship played out, especially towards the end. I also love how Cecilia Brady plays a kind of Nick Carraway role as an observer but also an important figure. Oh what could have been.

[katya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! Fitzgerald's language is beautiful, it's like he's weaving the most intricate embroidery, where every metaphor is another pearl, every piece of imagery another flower. When the blurb said 'tragedy' I was not expecting such a gut-wrenching tragedy. Nothing blows up. There's no meltdown of all that's good in the world. Nobody dies. No heart really broken. And that makes the sadness infinitely more powerful. The ending is so flat you're left screaming for more, for a meltdown, for a total tragic apocalypse of the heart.

Here are some of my favourite quotes (out of genuinly like a million, every page I could stare at for hours):
"He sent his words to her like letters, as though they left him some time before they reached her."
"Strange children should smile at each other and say, "Let's play.""

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read some of the other reviews I am relieved to find that I am not the only one who found 'Tender is the Night' a disappointing read. The scene setting and period details were captured perfectly and the characters well rounded but I found the storyline sometimes difficult to follow. I didn't warm to the characters enough to care about what happened to them. Perhaps Fitzgerald was simply aiming to portray their transient and shallow lives or maybe I just didn't understand the subtleties.

[Ghaly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I reached out for this book because I read The Great Gatsby. It saddened me that this is not even remotely as good. It felt chaotic, maybe that was the intention. But one thing to say for sure and that is you can easily be drawn into the world and where everything is happening. One thing I loved was how I can feel the sun at the beach. But other than that and a few interesting lines, I can fairly say I’m disappointed. Something was missing there for me. Also, this man “Dick” is the worst.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really a review, just some personal thoughts. While I believe Fitzgerald is a good writer, I just couldn't get into this book. It felt like it took me forever to finish it. It's nothing against him, it's just different than what I would normally read. Glad I tried to step out of what I normally read, and check out something different though. Not bad, just not my cup of tea.

[Isobel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having read Gatsby as a teenager I was lured into exploring more Fitzgerald by the plot of Grisham’s Camino Island. What a waste of 2 months! Having plodded through a quarter of Tender is the Night, I skimmed through remainder and didn’t bother with Last Tycoon. These books detailing minutiae of privileged Americans are no longer relevant especially the racism and misogyny.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read these books, especially the first, which is complete, you will understand why Fitzgerald was considered to be so great a writer. Also, if you read these books, especially the first, be prepared to have your gut wrenched.

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was such a lengthy read, although in the end I enjoyed it the start was rough and as per usual fitz got carried away with showing his vocab off, the story got lost at times and the male lead Dick was a literal dick.

[Vicky Tsiaras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dick’s descent into his own self destruction and the themes of race, mental illness, and the complexities of relationships were brilliant. Fitzgerald managed to perfectly capture this descent repeatedly with a line I’ll always remember “Do you mind if I pull down the curtain?”