The Beautiful and Damned, first published in 1922, is F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel. The novel provides a portrait of the Eastern elite during the Jazz Age, exploring New York Cafe Society. As with his other novels, Fitzgerald's characters are complex, especially in their marriage and intimacy. The book is believed to be largely based on Fitzgerald's relationship and marriage with Zelda Fitzgerald. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American author of novels and short stories. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, and a member of the "Lost Generation" of the 1920s. He finished four novels: This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, Tender Is the Night, and his most famous, The Great Gatsby. A fifth, unfinished novel, The Love of the Last Tycoon, was published posthumously. Fitzgerald also wrote many short stories that treat themes of youth and promise along with despair and age.