The Last Tycoon

The Last Tycoon is an unfinished novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that charts the rise of Monroe Stahr, a film producer in 1930s Hollywood. Its fragments were collected and edited by Fitzgerald’s friend Edmund Wilson and published posthumously in 1941, the year after Fitzgerald’s death. The book’s protagonist is widely considered to be modelled after the real-life film producer Irving Thalberg, whom Fitzgerald greatly admired. The story focuses on the inner workings of the film industry and the personal and business relationships of Stahr, which turn sour. The novel traverses themes of Desire, Love, and the Pain of Loss. Instead of glorifying Hollywood, Fitzgerald shows the uglier underbelly of show business, exploring The Deception Behind Hollywood Glamor and, more broadly, touching on themes of Societal Decay and Corruption of the American Dream.

This study guide refers to the First Scribner eBook edition from 2003, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Publications (not the 1993 re-edition by Matt Bruccoli titled The Love of the Last Tycoon).

Content Warning: This guide describes and discusses the source text’s treatment of death by suicide. Additionally, the source material uses outdated, offensive, and racist terms for people of color, which this guide reproduces only in direct quotes.