The Beautiful and Damned tells 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. Fitzgerald presents Gloria as a woman whose vocation is nothing more than to catch a husband. After her marriage to Anthony, Gloria’s sole vocation is to slide into indolence; her husband’s sole vocation is to wait for his inheritance, during which time he slides into alcoholism.
The Beautiful and Damned, first published by Scribner’s in 1922, is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s second novel. It portrays the Eastern elite during the Jazz Age, exploring New York café society. The book is generally considered to be largely based on Fitzgerald’s relationship with Zelda Fitzgerald.