The Beautiful and Damned (Penguin Hardback Classics) [Hardcover]

F. Scott Fitzgerald (Author), Coralie Bickford-Smith (Illustrator), Kermit Vanderbilt (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: October 25, 2011 | Series: Penguin Hardback Classics

"We know the old adage about judging books by their covers, but how could you not when the covers are as lovely as these?"
-Vogue (U.K.)

The jacket design by Coralie Bickford-Smith reflects the elegance and glamour of the Art Deco period paired with the modern aesthetic of mechanical repetition. Each jacket comes with a detachable bookmark.

Anthony and Gloria are the essence of Jazz Age glamour. A brilliant and magnetic couple, they fling themselves at life with an energy that is thrilling. New York is a playground where they dance and drink for days on end. Their marriage is a passionate theatrical performance; they are young, rich, alive and lovely and they intend to inherit the earth. But as money becomes tight, their marriage becomes impossible. And with their inheritance still distant, Anthony and Gloria must grow up and face reality; they may be beautiful but they are also damned.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Much of Scott's work is going public domain, and reprints are coming fast and furious. Besides "Diamond," this contains other gems, e.g., "The Ice Palace" and "Bernice Bobs Her Hair." Penguin has also released an $8.95 edition of The Beautiful and the Damned (ISBN 0-14-118087-0).
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

Anthony Patch The victors belong to the spoils. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics Hardcover; Reissue edition (October 25, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141194073
• ISBN-13: 978-0141194073
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.4 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (139 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,368 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the major American writers of the twentieth century -- a figure whose life and works embodied powerful myths about our national dreams and aspirations. Fitzgerald was talented and perceptive, gifted with a lyrical style and a pitch-perfect ear for language. He lived his life as a romantic, equally capable of great dedication to his craft and reckless squandering of his artistic capital. He left us one sure masterpiece, The Great Gatsby; a near-masterpiece, Tender Is the Night; and a gathering of stories and essays that together capture the essence of the American experience. His writings are insightful and stylistically brilliant; today he is admired both as a social chronicler and a remarkably gifted artist.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#4 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#4 in Books > Literature & Fiction

#6 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#4 in Books > Literature & Fiction

#6 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

203 of 218 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY TOUCHING, VERY WELL DONE April 10, 2004

By Heather Marshall Negahdar

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"It is seven thirty on an August evening. The windows in the living room of the gray house are wide open patiently exchanging the tainted inner atmosphere of liquor and smoke for the fresh drowsiness of the late hot dusk. There are dying flower scents upon the air, so thin, so fragile, as to hint already of a summer laid away in time."

This is the story of a young couple Anthony and Gloria Patch living out their days to the hilt in New York City as they await the death of Anthony's grandfather, Adam Patch from whom they expect to inherit his massive fortune.

Gloria is a spoilt child from Kansas City turned into a sophisticated and most beautiful woman. Gloria does not intend to lift a finger to do any domestic work in the home, no matter how slight; while Anthony who considers himself an aesthete, finds it quite hard to get his act together and instead of buckling down to some work, prefers instead to hang with his wife and their friends on nightly binges. They drink and eat in the classiest restaurants and hotels, rent the most expensive apartments, travel out to the West in the spring time driving plush cars, wearing top-of-the-line clothing and just generally living it up high on the hog, as they wait.

Meet Maury Noble who is Anthony best friend who spends his time between New York and Philadelphia; Richard Caramel who has just completed writing a book and looking for new ideas for a second one. Joseph Bloeckman from Munich who started out small in America and is now a big shot in Show Biz. Also the quiet Jewess Rachael Barnes and Muriel Kane who is young, flirtatious and sometimes a bit too talkative and Tana the Japanese housekeeper of the Patches.

We are shown the Patches at their very best as the novel starts, with the world at their feet and loaded with cash with which they make very expensive choices. But, as we get further in, we see things begin to change gradually and we realize that those very choices will be their very downfall. It was quite a good read but it could be very heartbreaking at times as we put ourselves into the shoes of the main characters. All lovers of F. Scott Fitzgerald should read this book if you haven't done so already, and those of you who like reading about the ultra rich in the Roaring Twenties this one is for you. It is the kind of book that you feel you will want to read again. It is that good and I shall miss it.
Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar (SUGAR-CANE 10/04/04)

110 of 122 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Moral depravity personified February 22, 2003

By Chris Salzer

Format:Paperback

The genius of F.Scott Fitzgerald shines brilliantly in this vastly underappreciated classic novel of moral depravity. The pervasive themes of Fitzgerald include moral corruption, profligate behavior, agnosticism, selfishness, narcissism, egocentrism, and of course, a sick obsession with money and alcohol. These themes permeate all too well throughout the beautifully written The Beautiful and Damned(pardon the pun).

Released in 1922, 2 years subsequent to the seminal This Side of Paradise and 3 years prior to the magnum opus The Great Gatsby, incomprehensibly, The Beautiful and Damned was not well received critically nor financially. As a result, history has erroneously filed it under the dubious sophomore jinx category. Strange it may seem, I vehemently disagree. As you read this book, you witness first-hand the maturation of an amazing writer. No American writer of the 20th Century can compare to the profound power and unwavering genius that is F.Scott Fitzgerald. If you enjoyed The Great Gatsby, you will no doubt enjoy this work - an equally beautifully writen and tragic tale of aspiring morally depraved young Americans in pursuit of The American Dream.

"Remarkable that a person can comprehend so little and yet live in such a complex civilization."

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars When life takes a turn October 12, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Fittingly, this was the last of Fitzgerald's novels that I read. And I apparently saved the best for last. In this enrapturing portrayl of young lovers who are attracted by their differences in the beggining yet destroyed by their similarities in the end (the need of wealth). I find this perhaps one of Fitzgerald's finest literary achievements. He has it all working for him in this novel, his character development is excellent, I feel as though I could recognize Anthony or Gloria on the street if they were to saunter my way. Fitzgerald truly breaks his own mold on this terrific literary achievement. He not only tells a wonderful story of two young lovers but he also parallels it with a very strong supporting cast of characters to Anthony and Gloria. Much can be understood of the lead characters by reading into the supporting characters, focus on Anthhony's grandfather for example. The rosy picture which is so commonly printed by the media of the rich has never been so wonderfully redone with vibrant color as Fitzgerald waves his "paint brush" through all the old misconceptions of the rich and into something truly brilliant: Real life. Fitzgerald was indeed touched with brilliance, and never has it ever been more evident than in his wonderful novel :The Beautiful and Damned." An absolute must read.