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The Beautiful And Damned And Other Stories
Feel the swing and sway of the Jazz Age in this collection of stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned explores the world of America’s upper class during World War I and the beginning of the Jazz Age. Loosely based on Fitzgerald’s relationship with his wife, Zelda, the novel centers around Anthony Patch, a young East Coast socialite who is heir to his grandfather’s fortune and lacks motivation to pursue a meaningful career. In his attempt to find his place in society while waiting for his inheritance, Anthony loses himself to alcoholism; neglects his wife, Gloria; and struggles with the realities of everyday life. This volume also includes seven short stories by Fitzgerald published in the early 1920s, including “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned explores the world of America’s upper class during World War I and the beginning of the Jazz Age. Loosely based on Fitzgerald’s relationship with his wife, Zelda, the novel centers around Anthony Patch, a young East Coast socialite who is heir to his grandfather’s fortune and lacks motivation to pursue a meaningful career. In his attempt to find his place in society while waiting for his inheritance, Anthony loses himself to alcoholism; neglects his wife, Gloria; and struggles with the realities of everyday life. This volume also includes seven short stories by Fitzgerald published in the early 1920s, including “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
544 pages, Flexibound
First published April 16, 2019
22 people are currently reading
360 people want to read
About the author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
2,139 books25.7k followersFrancis 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 27, 2023
audiobook version
alcoholism trigger
🌳
I will buck the professional critics here and declare this to be one of Fitzgerald’s finest works.
The difference between The Beautiful and Damned and The Great Gatsby is Gatsby is about a tragic but noble soul. Whereas Beautiful and Damned is about a tragic but pathetic and despicable soul. [he becomes an alcoholic and that changes his personality of course] It could have been written by Hardy or Somerset Maugham for the novel is about the downward spiral and disintegration of a human life.
Honestly, I was riveted. The writing is powerful and irresistible. The story carries you along at breakneck speed, totally absorbing you in its characters and its themes. It is not second to Gatsby. Just different. As Hamlet is different from Macbeth. Yet they stand side by side.
An astonishing tour de force and a superior work of art and passion. Published in 1922 when Fitzgerald was 26.
This novel really has not received its due. Yes, Anthony the alcoholic devolved into a horrendous human being. But I remained caught up in his tale, hoping he might break free and experience resurrection into a better life.
In one way, he did. In another way, he did not.
alcoholism trigger
🌳
I will buck the professional critics here and declare this to be one of Fitzgerald’s finest works.
The difference between The Beautiful and Damned and The Great Gatsby is Gatsby is about a tragic but noble soul. Whereas Beautiful and Damned is about a tragic but pathetic and despicable soul. [he becomes an alcoholic and that changes his personality of course] It could have been written by Hardy or Somerset Maugham for the novel is about the downward spiral and disintegration of a human life.
Honestly, I was riveted. The writing is powerful and irresistible. The story carries you along at breakneck speed, totally absorbing you in its characters and its themes. It is not second to Gatsby. Just different. As Hamlet is different from Macbeth. Yet they stand side by side.
An astonishing tour de force and a superior work of art and passion. Published in 1922 when Fitzgerald was 26.
This novel really has not received its due. Yes, Anthony the alcoholic devolved into a horrendous human being. But I remained caught up in his tale, hoping he might break free and experience resurrection into a better life.
In one way, he did. In another way, he did not.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2024
Head and Shoulders: "'At's all life is. Just going around kissing people. I like you, Omar, but I wish you'd talk as if you had a line on what you were saying. You sound as if you were gargling a lot of words in your mouth and lost a bet every time you spilled a few. I asked you if you ever had any fun."
January 1, 2020
Okay...I can do this.
The Beautiful and the Damned:
3/5 stars
This story was about two selfish people who fall in 'love' that doesn't understand the concept of work. As a result, despite coming from privilege places, they severely struggle in their lives. There was a lot of tense parts in this book and a lot of flat parts as well. There were some stages where I was really into it and some stages where I could care less. It also ended very flat. There was so much build up near the end, and yes it had a perfect last line, but it suddenly just dropped and it was just...what? Definitely not a favourite of this man's works.
The Offshore Pirate:
3.5/5 stars
I am not gonna lie, I was really into this one. This was going to be a solid 5/5 for me. It was vibrant. The characters were so colourful and it was just a fun story that made me smile so much. And then that ending happened. I understand why it had that ending, but it made the story a lie and it made me so disappointed. It dropped it down from 5 to 3.5 for me.
The Ice Palace:
5/5 stars
I really loved this one. A girl moves up North with her partner and it just completely unused to it. She becomes stuck in something called the Ice Palace as a result. This was just a really interesting one about a girl who was just in a very different place, and in a sense a culture, that she was not used to. It was just well done, and there was nothing about this story that I could really fault with.
Head and Shoulders:
5/5 stars
Okay, I loved how this was written. It was a fun story about these two people who met with very different minds and careers and how it drastically changed throughout their life. I absolutely adored it. This is my favourite of this collection because it was just such a fun read. And I feel the need to share with you this absolute brilliant line.
""Here's another," chirped Horace eagerly, and the fat man's mouth dropped suddenly agape as he watched this pink-jerseyed Prometheus again defy the gods and Isaac Newton."
Bernice Bobs Her Hair
4/5 stars
The rating was generous for this story. It was still an entertaining story though. A girl whom is deemed beautiful but uninteresting goes to her cousin (I believe it was her cousin) to a try and be more interesting. This was, as I said, an entertaining read but not one I would read again.
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz
2.5/5 stars
This is where it starts to get weird. This is kind of a discovery story where this family find this giant diamond that builds their fortune, but this diamond is secret because of the mere size of it and this family is determined on hiding it. A boy is invited to their home and is introduced to their luxury. As I said, a bit strange especially for this author. It did have it moments, despite me being so confused.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2/5 stars
The book ended weird. A boy is born, as an old man. He moves through his life with his parents insisting on his age as a six month old, five year old etc when in fact he is much beyond his years. This potently could be a humourous story but admittedly I DNFed it because I really was not into it. Again, there was a lot of confusion.
So overall, I'm giving this three stars. I am not going to lie, there was times where this was a real struggle to get through.
The Beautiful and the Damned:
3/5 stars
This story was about two selfish people who fall in 'love' that doesn't understand the concept of work. As a result, despite coming from privilege places, they severely struggle in their lives. There was a lot of tense parts in this book and a lot of flat parts as well. There were some stages where I was really into it and some stages where I could care less. It also ended very flat. There was so much build up near the end, and yes it had a perfect last line, but it suddenly just dropped and it was just...what? Definitely not a favourite of this man's works.
The Offshore Pirate:
3.5/5 stars
I am not gonna lie, I was really into this one. This was going to be a solid 5/5 for me. It was vibrant. The characters were so colourful and it was just a fun story that made me smile so much. And then that ending happened. I understand why it had that ending, but it made the story a lie and it made me so disappointed. It dropped it down from 5 to 3.5 for me.
The Ice Palace:
5/5 stars
I really loved this one. A girl moves up North with her partner and it just completely unused to it. She becomes stuck in something called the Ice Palace as a result. This was just a really interesting one about a girl who was just in a very different place, and in a sense a culture, that she was not used to. It was just well done, and there was nothing about this story that I could really fault with.
Head and Shoulders:
5/5 stars
Okay, I loved how this was written. It was a fun story about these two people who met with very different minds and careers and how it drastically changed throughout their life. I absolutely adored it. This is my favourite of this collection because it was just such a fun read. And I feel the need to share with you this absolute brilliant line.
""Here's another," chirped Horace eagerly, and the fat man's mouth dropped suddenly agape as he watched this pink-jerseyed Prometheus again defy the gods and Isaac Newton."
Bernice Bobs Her Hair
4/5 stars
The rating was generous for this story. It was still an entertaining story though. A girl whom is deemed beautiful but uninteresting goes to her cousin (I believe it was her cousin) to a try and be more interesting. This was, as I said, an entertaining read but not one I would read again.
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz
2.5/5 stars
This is where it starts to get weird. This is kind of a discovery story where this family find this giant diamond that builds their fortune, but this diamond is secret because of the mere size of it and this family is determined on hiding it. A boy is invited to their home and is introduced to their luxury. As I said, a bit strange especially for this author. It did have it moments, despite me being so confused.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2/5 stars
The book ended weird. A boy is born, as an old man. He moves through his life with his parents insisting on his age as a six month old, five year old etc when in fact he is much beyond his years. This potently could be a humourous story but admittedly I DNFed it because I really was not into it. Again, there was a lot of confusion.
So overall, I'm giving this three stars. I am not going to lie, there was times where this was a real struggle to get through.
May 11, 2024
"Relateable" "Real" "Emotionally Provoking"
The Beautiful And Damned will be the literary version of an anthem for those who have been in toxic relationships where pain, life overtake love.
It follows Anthony Patch, grandson of a very wealthy veteran businessman named Adam Patch. He is lazy, intelligent, and only focuses on being happy and his woman Gloria, a 1920's flapper girl. This book is so relatable to me cause it follows an aspiring author, (something I recently became), who can't quite survive through his merit. (This, however, is starting to change for me.) He is a hopeless romantic like myself and falls in love with the beautiful girl who draws the attention of everyone whenever she walks into a room. The type of girl with that magnetic personality, infectious joy and smiles, the kind of girl with a twinkle in her eye who loves to have fun, the bad girl. Which is what I am attracted to, I get enamored by the way they move, like a stallion running free in a field in Montana. I fell in love, became borderline obsessed like Anythony to this girl Katarina, I was madly in love and soft/tender and she knew it and took advantage of it just like Gloria in the book.
Long story short, I loved the characters in the book cause they resonate with me and they might for you if you love hard and hurt hard and struggled in life as a poor person, it is a MUST READ.
5/5 Shelved as favorites/will read again.
The Beautiful And Damned will be the literary version of an anthem for those who have been in toxic relationships where pain, life overtake love.
It follows Anthony Patch, grandson of a very wealthy veteran businessman named Adam Patch. He is lazy, intelligent, and only focuses on being happy and his woman Gloria, a 1920's flapper girl. This book is so relatable to me cause it follows an aspiring author, (something I recently became), who can't quite survive through his merit. (This, however, is starting to change for me.) He is a hopeless romantic like myself and falls in love with the beautiful girl who draws the attention of everyone whenever she walks into a room. The type of girl with that magnetic personality, infectious joy and smiles, the kind of girl with a twinkle in her eye who loves to have fun, the bad girl. Which is what I am attracted to, I get enamored by the way they move, like a stallion running free in a field in Montana. I fell in love, became borderline obsessed like Anythony to this girl Katarina, I was madly in love and soft/tender and she knew it and took advantage of it just like Gloria in the book.
Long story short, I loved the characters in the book cause they resonate with me and they might for you if you love hard and hurt hard and struggled in life as a poor person, it is a MUST READ.
5/5 Shelved as favorites/will read again.
December 31, 2025
4.0-4.5⭐️ – one of Fitzgerald's best works, in my opinion.
Largely autobiographical, this novel depicts a man’s struggle to manage life with and without money. All that the author knows so well. Love, friendship, life goals and even mental health… everything is at stake.
Not that the theme of young people living on money they never earned is anything new or unique. Not that the author came to any new conclusions or discoveries. Although the following quote is brilliant. But he was able to show his characters in such a light that helps the reader build an emotional connection with them.
“Aristocracy’s only an admission that certain traits which we call fine—courage and honor and beauty and all that sort of thing—can best be developed in a favorable environment, where you don’t have the warpings of ignorance and necessity.”
The young man’s carefree life seems free from any changes. They are so small and gradual that there seems to be no progress in this novel. The life of a married couple is much different from this. And the gradual changes in their relationship add much more dynamic to the plot. But still, these changes seem so insignificant that the novel does not move anywhere. And only at the end of the novel, the dimensions of the changes rise like a snowball and fall like an avalanche.
Largely autobiographical, this novel depicts a man’s struggle to manage life with and without money. All that the author knows so well. Love, friendship, life goals and even mental health… everything is at stake.
Not that the theme of young people living on money they never earned is anything new or unique. Not that the author came to any new conclusions or discoveries. Although the following quote is brilliant. But he was able to show his characters in such a light that helps the reader build an emotional connection with them.
“Aristocracy’s only an admission that certain traits which we call fine—courage and honor and beauty and all that sort of thing—can best be developed in a favorable environment, where you don’t have the warpings of ignorance and necessity.”
The young man’s carefree life seems free from any changes. They are so small and gradual that there seems to be no progress in this novel. The life of a married couple is much different from this. And the gradual changes in their relationship add much more dynamic to the plot. But still, these changes seem so insignificant that the novel does not move anywhere. And only at the end of the novel, the dimensions of the changes rise like a snowball and fall like an avalanche.
August 15, 2021
3.8
El libro como tal de hermosos y malditos ya lo había leído e hice la reseña aparte. Pero para ser cortos, leí la versión en inglés de forma 'rápida' solo para conocer la historia en su idioma original, y debo decir que la experiencia si cambia totalmente, no sé cuál es la magia de las palabras de Fitzgerald, pero realmente encontré esta primera y gran historia mucho más llamativa en su idioma original.
Las historias cortas me encantaron, ya que están bien estructuradas y puedes seguir siguiendo esta época de flappers, jazz y en sí, diversión. Dentro de estas pequeñas historias, Fitzgerald prueba diferentes puntos de vista, cosa que me agradó mucho, sobre todo cuando escribe desde la perspectiva de las mujeres, el mejor ejemplo es el relato de 'El castillo de cristal', todo ese cuento se me hizo algo sumamente bonito y quería que durara muchas más páginas.
En fin, me gustó mucho este libro y conocer más estas pequeñas historias.
El libro como tal de hermosos y malditos ya lo había leído e hice la reseña aparte. Pero para ser cortos, leí la versión en inglés de forma 'rápida' solo para conocer la historia en su idioma original, y debo decir que la experiencia si cambia totalmente, no sé cuál es la magia de las palabras de Fitzgerald, pero realmente encontré esta primera y gran historia mucho más llamativa en su idioma original.
Las historias cortas me encantaron, ya que están bien estructuradas y puedes seguir siguiendo esta época de flappers, jazz y en sí, diversión. Dentro de estas pequeñas historias, Fitzgerald prueba diferentes puntos de vista, cosa que me agradó mucho, sobre todo cuando escribe desde la perspectiva de las mujeres, el mejor ejemplo es el relato de 'El castillo de cristal', todo ese cuento se me hizo algo sumamente bonito y quería que durara muchas más páginas.
En fin, me gustó mucho este libro y conocer más estas pequeñas historias.
May 14, 2019
Two people that are exceptionally shallow and vain get married. They have a very abusive relationship with eachother and call it love. This author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, seems to understand jealousy and obsession to be love. It is even brought into his short stories in the same way. There isn't character growth and overall feels like it's lacking in a story plot. I don't know how this is considered a classic. Horrible writing and concept.
July 23, 2022
This one is a really weird one to rate just because there are so many stories in it, but the Beautiful and Damned I would give a 3.8. There were some short stories I liked like The Offshore Pirate and The Ice Palace, and my favorite was probably the Curious Case of Benjamin Button but the other short stories (there’s like 10 more) I just found boring
November 23, 2025
I've decided that I love Fitzgerald 100% for his writing. It's just beautiful. His stories flow so effortlessly that I almost don't mind that the world is falling apart around his somewhat despicable characters.
I didn't get to all of the short stores, but I read The Beautiful and Damned and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and loved both.
I didn't get to all of the short stores, but I read The Beautiful and Damned and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and loved both.
September 27, 2021
Fitzgerald has such a wonderful way with words and descriptions that at times his stories are a pleasure to read. It’s a shame that his writings show just exactly how much he hates women.
The only story worth reading in this collection is The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons.
The only story worth reading in this collection is The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons.
December 26, 2024
The Beautiful and Damned - (2/5) Read like preliminary sketches for the Great Gatsby - limited development of characters/plot, but beautiful stills
Other Stories - (4/5) Experimental, trippy shorts (again, aesthetic-driven), except Benjamin Button which has me INCONSOLABLE
Other Stories - (4/5) Experimental, trippy shorts (again, aesthetic-driven), except Benjamin Button which has me INCONSOLABLE
January 5, 2020
A great collection of Fitzgerald's work for fans of The Great Gatsby.
July 22, 2020
Book 2 of Reading Rush July 2020: a book that starts with ‘The’
February 14, 2023
Besides the racially charged towards black and asian characters. Fitzgerald uses the characters of Anthony and Gloria to examplify how miserable the married life of the higher upper class can be.
December 24, 2024
The short stories like a Diamond as Big as the Ritz and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button carry this book
August 20, 2019
The story of Anthony Patch, a 1910s socialite and presumptive heir to a tycoon's fortune, his relationship with his wife, Gloria, his service in the army, and his alcoholism.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews