Literary detective Bruccoli has produced a remarkable feat of scholarship in this welcome critical edition of the novel Fitzgerald began during his final year (1940) while working in Hollywood as a screenwriter. Generally considered a roman a clef, the story charts the power struggle of self-made, overworked producer Monroe Stahr (modeled on MGM producer Irving Thalberg) with rival executive Pat Brady (a stand-in for MGM head Louis B. Mayer). It is also the story of Stahr's love affair with young widow Kathleen Moore and is (partly at least) narrated by Cecelia, Brady's cynical daughter who is hopelessly in love with Stahr. After Fitzgerald's death in December, his conflicting drafts for the novel were reworked by Edmund Wilson, who spliced episodes, moved around scenes and altered words and punctuation. Bruccoli, Fitzgerald biographer and editor of Cambridge's critical edition of The Great Gatsby , has restored Fitzgerald's original version and has also restored the narrative's ostensible working title, one that implies that Hollywood is the last American frontier where immigrants and their progeny remake themselves. Equally significant are other entries in this volume: Bruccoli's informative introduction; letters by Fitzgerald, Wilson and Maxwell Perkins; facsimiles of Fitzgerald's notes and drafts; and textual commentary, including helpful explanations of the novel's numerous topical references. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Based loosely on the life of movie mogul Irving Thalberg, this novel was left unfinished in rough form at the time of Fitzgerald's death. Soon after, a flawed version was hastily released under the makeshift title The Last Tycoon , which has been the only available edition. Now, however, in this second installment in Cambridge's series of critical editions of Fitzgerald's works (Classic Returns, LJ 9/15/91), renowned Fitzgerald scholar Bruccoli has reassembled the 17 existing--out of 31 planned--episodes, according to Fitzgerald's intentions. The volume also includes an introduction by Bruccoli providing insight into the book's inception and history plus extensive information on the text, including facsimiles of the original manuscript pages, and a list of Fitzgerald's intended corrections and working notes. Though there are snatches of brilliance throughout, the text is not polished to the fine luster readers expect of an author of this caliber, but, coupled with Scott's notes, it provides a significant glimpse into the creative faculties of one of literature's preeminent minds. The Cambridge edition of The Love of the Last Tycoon is a superlative literary Christmas present. Essential for all serious literature collections. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Description:
The Last Tycoon, edited by the renowned literary critic Edmund Wilson, was first published a year after Fitzgerald's death and includes the author's notes and outline for his unfinished literary masterpiece. It is the story of the young Hollywood mogul Monroe Stahr, who was inspired by the life of boy-genius Irving Thalberg, and is an exposé of the studio system in its heyday.
From Publishers Weekly
Literary detective Bruccoli has produced a remarkable feat of scholarship in this welcome critical edition of the novel Fitzgerald began during his final year (1940) while working in Hollywood as a screenwriter. Generally considered a roman a clef, the story charts the power struggle of self-made, overworked producer Monroe Stahr (modeled on MGM producer Irving Thalberg) with rival executive Pat Brady (a stand-in for MGM head Louis B. Mayer). It is also the story of Stahr's love affair with young widow Kathleen Moore and is (partly at least) narrated by Cecelia, Brady's cynical daughter who is hopelessly in love with Stahr. After Fitzgerald's death in December, his conflicting drafts for the novel were reworked by Edmund Wilson, who spliced episodes, moved around scenes and altered words and punctuation. Bruccoli, Fitzgerald biographer and editor of Cambridge's critical edition of The Great Gatsby , has restored Fitzgerald's original version and has also restored the narrative's ostensible working title, one that implies that Hollywood is the last American frontier where immigrants and their progeny remake themselves. Equally significant are other entries in this volume: Bruccoli's informative introduction; letters by Fitzgerald, Wilson and Maxwell Perkins; facsimiles of Fitzgerald's notes and drafts; and textual commentary, including helpful explanations of the novel's numerous topical references.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Based loosely on the life of movie mogul Irving Thalberg, this novel was left unfinished in rough form at the time of Fitzgerald's death. Soon after, a flawed version was hastily released under the makeshift title The Last Tycoon , which has been the only available edition. Now, however, in this second installment in Cambridge's series of critical editions of Fitzgerald's works (Classic Returns, LJ 9/15/91), renowned Fitzgerald scholar Bruccoli has reassembled the 17 existing--out of 31 planned--episodes, according to Fitzgerald's intentions. The volume also includes an introduction by Bruccoli providing insight into the book's inception and history plus extensive information on the text, including facsimiles of the original manuscript pages, and a list of Fitzgerald's intended corrections and working notes. Though there are snatches of brilliance throughout, the text is not polished to the fine luster readers expect of an author of this caliber, but, coupled with Scott's notes, it provides a significant glimpse into the creative faculties of one of literature's preeminent minds. The Cambridge edition of The Love of the Last Tycoon is a superlative literary Christmas present. Essential for all serious literature collections.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.