Tender is the Night

Fitzgerald's great tragedy set on the French Riviera, now in Penguin Black Classics. The French Riviera in the 1920s is 'discovered' by Dick and Nicole Diver, who turn it into the playground of the rich and glamorous. Among their circle is Rosemary Hoyt, a film star, who is instantly attracted to them, but understands little of the dark secrets and corruption that haunt their marriage. As Dick draws closer to Rosemary, he fractures the delicate structure of his marriage and sets both Nicole and himself on to a dangerous path. In this exquisite, lyrical novel, Fitzgerald poured much of the essence of his own life, while depicting the age of materialism, shattered idealism and broken dreams.