The Love of the Last Tycoon
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The Love of The Last Tycoon: A Western is an unfinished novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, compiled and published posthumously.
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[edit] Specifications
- Author = F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Cover Artist = Kinuko Y. Craft (Scribner's 2003 paperback edition)
- Series =
- Genre = Novel
- Publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons
- Publication Date = 1941
- Nature of Rarity =
- Number in Existence =
- Estimated Value =
[edit] Plot introduction
The novel centers on the life of film executive Monroe Stahr in Hollywood in the 1930s. Stahr is modelled on the life of film executive Irving Thalberg, though only in ideas and ambitions, not in actual life events. The notes for the novel were collected and edited by the literary critic Edmund Wilson, who was a close friend of Fitzgerald, and the unfinished novel was published in 1941 as The Last Tycoon. Critics have looked upon this work favorably; some have even speculated that this could have outdone Fitzgerald's masterpiece The Great Gatsby (1925) had it been finished.
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title
The Love of the Last Tycoon was originally published as The Last Tycoon, though there is now critical agreement that Fitzgerald intended the former as the title. It wasn't until the 1993 publication, as part of The Cambridge Edition of the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli, that the work first appeared as The Love of the Last Tycoon. According Bruccoli, Fitzgerald wanted the title to "sound like a movie title and completely disguise the tragic-heroic content of the book".
[edit] Plot summary
The narrative begins with Cecelia Brady, Wylie White, and Mr. Schwartze on a plane headed toward Hollywood. At first, the men do not know that Cecilia is the daughter of a famous producer. She is ignored until the realization is made, at which point they become eager for conversation. The plane makes an emergency landing in Nashville due to a storm, leading the three to take off on an adventure to The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson, which is closed when they arrive. Cecilia and Wylie have grown close by this time and sit talking in front of the house but Mr. Schwartze goes off on a hunt for a way inside. By the time he finds his way back to the others he has fallen and hit his head. Soon it is time to go to the plane, but he wishes to stay behind, where he kills himself.
Monroe Stahr makes his first appearance on the plane as Mr. Smith, whom Cecelia mistakes for the co-pilot. He reappears back on the plane talking to Wylie about a letter given to him by Mr. Schwartze. This is the first glimpse of the conspiracy going on with Monroe Stahr in the movie industry and of Cecilia’s infatuation with him.
In Hollywood there is a large earthquake that occurs as Cecelia goes to collect Pat Brady, her father, who is late for his birthday party. She walks into his office as he and Jaques La Borwitz are discussing Stahr. They set off in search of Stahr. Stahr believes the earthquake to have been part of a dream, continuing to do so until he hears reports of flooding all over the studio. Going to check out the flood they find two women on a large head depicting Siva floating in the middle of the water. The men are at first angry, but Stahr becomes awe-struck when by one of the women, who is an exact double of Minna Davis, his deceased wife.
Stahr gets his workers to start searching for the woman that he remembers at the flood. When they finally track her down, it turns out she is Kathleen Moore, the friend of the girl that Stahr remembered. Neither of the girls want to be with Stahr.
Cecilia repeatedly tries to get Stahr to think of her as more than his associate's daughter, but as a prospect for marriage. Though she flirts with him, Stahr maintains that he is too wrapped up in pictures for anything else.
Stahr spends most of his time working, dealing with many people in the innovative ways that brought him to the top of the industry. Red Ridingwood, a director, has proved a disappointment, so Stahr removes him from a film, replacing him with another. When the eyesight of Stahr's favorite cameraman begins to fail, he sends the man to an occulist, clears up rumors, and returns him to work. Many of Stahr's screenwriters become upset with his system of having multiple writers on one script. He reassures them, motivating the writers to continue to work.
Stahr runs into Kathleen at a dance and they talk until Stahr frightens her with his intensity. For a time, Stahr sits at his expected table of higher-end people, including Cecilia, until he sees Kathleen start to leave and convinces her to go out with him. Cecelia takes the narrative over now, and Stahr dances with her while Wylie tries to find out who Kathleen was.
Stahr and Kathleen meet in a car park the next day, go out to lunch and then to Stahr’s unfinished house, feigning formalities all the while. They eat dinner in a drugstore before Stahr takes Kathleen back to her house. There they kiss before returning to Stahr’s unfinished house on the beach. After making love the two share more of their lives and walk along the beach, They encounter an African-American man who challenges Monroe’s ideas about pictures. After taking Kathleen home, Stahr's housekeeper finds a letter in his car from Kathleen in which she reveals her engagement to another man.
After five days, Kathleen calls Stahr. They make plans to see each other over the weekend, but before Stahr can act on them Kathleen's fiancee arrives in America and the two are married.
Stahr wants to speak with a member of the Communist Party and calls up Cecilia to arrange a meeting. Cecilia arranges for Stahr to meet Brimmer. The conversation is pleasant at first, but Stahr gets drunk and attacks Brimmer, who knocks him out. Cecilia states that this is the start of a romantic relationship between her and Stahr.
Fitzgerald's death caused the narrative to end here, but his extensive notes indicate his plan for the rest of the novel. However, these notes sometimes conflict with each other in terms of plotting. Fitzgerald envisioned Kathleen and Stahr eventually coming together, but Stahr dying in a plane crash quickly after their reconciliation.
[edit] Publication details
- 1993, USA, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-40231-X, hardcover
- 2003, USA, Charles Scribner’s Sons, ISBN 0-02-019985-6, paperback
[edit] Sources, references, external links, quotations
- F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Last Tycoon An Unfinished Novel. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1941. Scanned book from Internet Archive.
