Book Review : The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The book is set in the 1930s and traces the life of Hollywood studio manager Monroe Stahr, a character based on the head of production at MGM, Irving Thalberg.

The novel seems to be mainly the first-person narration of the young Bennington College student Cecilia Brady, the daughter of influential Hollywood producer Pat Brady. Stahr and Cecilia see each other on a plane heading to Los Angeles. Cecilia has known Stahr for a dozen years since Pat Brady and he became business partners, although there is an intense rivalry. Cecilia has a crush on Stahr and later on, she introduces him to Kathleen Moore.

Kathleen seems reluctant to be with Stahr, but eventually agrees to have a coffee with him. They go to Stahr’s new house and become lovers. A short time later, Stahr receives a letter in which Kathleen tells him she has now decided to marry someone else, despite having fallen in love with Stahr. They continue to be lovers after her marriage. Pat Brady finds this out and blackmails Stahr. Stahr orders a professional hit on Brady, but is unable to call off the hit before it happens – there is a good reason for this but I can’t tell you why as this would be a spoiler.