Anthony Patch is the idle heir to a vast fortune. His wife, Gloria, dazzles society with her good looks. Satisfied by privilege and beauty alone, they are beholden only to the “magnificent attitude of not giving a damn.” When Anthony’s inheritance is withheld, it causes an irreparable rift in their marriage, threatening their fragile paradise. Oblivious to their future, he and Gloria have little left to define themselves but their ever-receding pasts.

A bitter critique of the empty pleasures of post–World War I Café Society, The Beautiful and Damned endures not only as a cautionary tale but as a social artifact of the decadent Roaring Twenties.

AmazonClassics brings you timeless works from the masters of storytelling. Ideal for anyone who wants to read a great work for the first time or rediscover an old favorite, these new editions open the door to literature’s most unforgettable characters and beloved worlds.

Revised edition: Previously published as The Beautiful and Damned, this edition of The Beautiful and Damned (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.