'The love of the last tycoon' was left in draft form at the time of Fitzgerald's death. After these notes were edited by the literary critic Edmund Wilson, the novel was published in 1941 as 'The last tycoon'. It is inspired by the life of film producer Irving Thalberg, on whom its protagonist Monroe Stahr was based. The story follows Stahr's rise to power in Hollywood, and his conflicts with rival Pat Brady, a fictionalised Louis B. Mayer. This is now paired with the riches to rags story The Crack Up, the story of Fitzgerald's own descent from a life of success and glamour to one of Emptiness and despair, and his determined recovery.
