The last tycoon: an unfinished novel

Although Fitzgerald never completed his final novel before his death and the text reproduced in this volume probably amounts to two thirds (itself only a draft version) of the intended final story, the author left behind many working notes and letters indicating how The Last Tycoon would have continued. In addition to these indications, Edmund Wilson, the editor of the first edition of the novel (1941), benefited from the input of Sheilah Graham and Frances Kroll, Fitzgerald’s lovers in his final years, in his efforts to put together a synopsis of the unwritten episodes. Wilson’s research, as well as that of other scholars such as Matthew J. Bruccoli, the editor of the 1993 Cambridge University Press edition, have made it possible to outline the direction in which Fitzgerald intended to take the plot. It must be noted, however, that Fitzgerald had a habit of heavily revising and reshaping his novels as he wrote successive drafts, so the summary below should only be read as a speculative attempt at recreating Fitzgerald’s plans at first-draft stage to see Washington, and this presented Fitzgerald with the opportunity to contrast the glamour- and money-driven world of Hollywood with the civic ideals of the nation’s founders – a thematic juxtaposition which, as Edmund Wilson points out, had already been introduced in the first chapter, when the Hollywood delegation tried to visit Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage. It is unclear how Stahr’s business talks go in Washington, but he falls seriously ill in the city due to the heat. The central issue in the dispute that prompted the trip is a proposed general wage cut, over which there has been disagreement between Brady and Stahr. When the latter returns to Hollywood, he finds out that his partner has, behind his back, imposed a fifty-per-cent cut across the entire company, reneging on a promise that only the writers and executives would sacrifice part of their salary in order to spare the lower-paid employee ... Monroe Stahr is a film producer at the height of his career, revered by the industry and in control of every aspect of his business empire. In his ruthless rise to the top, the young widower has had little time for sentiment, until he meets the beguiling Kathleen Moore, and the two embark on an intense but ill-fated relationship. Fitzgerald’s last, unfinished novel tells of the rise to fame and power of a Hollywood film producer. The protagonist is believed to be based on the life and career of real-life producer Irving Thalberg. The Last Tycoon is a sophisticated, gripping tale of love and intrigue in the Golden Age of Hollywood, containing what many critics have claimed are Fitzgerald's most modern and engaging characters.