Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby
    Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby
    Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby
    Audiobook13 hours

    Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby

    Written by Sarah Churchwell

    Narrated by Kate Reading

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Since its publication in 1925, The Great Gatsby has become one of the world's best-loved books, delighting readers across the world. Careless People tells the true story behind F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, exploring in newly rich detail the relation of Fitzgerald's classic to the chaotic world he in which he lived. Fitzgerald set his novel in 1922, and Careless People carefully reconstructs the crucial months during which Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald returned to New York in the autumn of 1922-the parties, the drunken weekends at Great Neck, Long Island, the drives back into the city to the jazz clubs and speakeasies, the casual intersection of high society and organized crime, and the growth of celebrity culture of which the Fitzgeralds themselves were the epitome. And for the first time it returns to the story of Gatsby the high-profile murder that provided a crucial inspiration for Fitzgerald's tale.

    With wit and insight, Sarah Churchwell traces the genesis of a masterpiece, discovering where fiction comes from and how it takes shape in the mind of a genius. Blending biography and history with lost and forgotten newspaper accounts, letters, and newly discovered archival material, Careless People is the biography of a book, telling the extraordinary tale of how F. Scott Fitzgerald created a classic and in the process discovered modern America.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJan 23, 2014
    ISBN9781452686691
    Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby
    Author

    Sarah Churchwell

    Sarah Churchwell is Professor of American Literature and Chair of Public Understanding of the Humanities at the School of Advanced Study, University of London. She is the author of Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and The Invention of The Great Gatsby and The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe. Her literary journalism has appeared widely in newspapers including the Guardian, New Statesman, Financial Times, Times Literary Supplement and New York Times Book Review, and she comments regularly on arts, culture, and politics for television and radio, where appearances include Question Time, Newsnight and The Review Show. She has judged many literary prizes, including the 2017 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction, the 2014 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and she was a co-winner of the 2015 Eccles British Library Writer's Award. Her new book, Behold, America: A History of America First and the American Dream, will be published by Bloomsbury in May 2018.

    Related to Careless People

    Related audiobooks

    True Crime For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Olivia De Havilland Dies At 104, Starred In 'Gone With The Wind'

      Jul 26, 2020

      Olivia de Havilland, the last remaining star from the 1939 epic film "Gone With the Wind" and a two-time Academy Award winner who for decades was seen as the essence of Hollywood royalty, has died at her residence in Paris. She was 104. De Havilland,

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Author Goes Abroad

      Nov 23, 2023

      The Author Goes Abroad
      3 min read

    • Article

      Exceeding Expectations

      Nov 23, 2023

      Charles Dickens did not come from a privileged background, but nor were his parents without prospects. John Dickens (1785-1851), was the son of servants to the Crewe family - Cheshire gentry with a townhouse in Mayfair - whose patronage secured him a

      5 min read

    • Article

      Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Allende, Smith, Eisenberg, Cummins, Chayka, and More

      Jan 21, 2020

      Here’s a quick look at some notable books—new titles from the likes of Isabel Allende, Danez Smith, Emma Copley Eisenberg, Jeanine Cummins, Kyle Chayka, and more—that are publishing this week. Want to learn more about upcoming titles? Then go read ou

      5 min read

    • Article

      Deep South The Write Way

      Jun 2, 2022

      Deep South The Write Way
      8 min read

    • Article

      Rhiannon Giddens

      Mar 16, 2020

      Rhiannon Giddens
      4 min read

    • Article

      Indianola, Onward

      May 14, 2019

      Indianola, Onward
      11 min read

    • Article

      Dear Inga, Love Jack

      Jun 30, 2020

      Dear Inga, Love Jack
      20 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Aug 7, 2019

      Book Club
      5 min read

    • Article

      Commonplace Book

      Jun 4, 2018

      I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me. —Fred Allen I have always wondered, in reading travels, at the childish joy travellers felt at meeting people they knew, and their sense of loneliness when they did not, in

      4 min read

    • Article

      Those Who Left Us: Select Literary Obituaries of 2017

      Jan 10, 2018

      Poets, editors, songwriters, teachers, journalists, novelists—some great writers and some under-sung ones left us this year. Here, in chronological order of their deaths, is a selective compendium of literary obituaries from 2017.     Bhara

      15 min read

    • Article

      Kilvert’s Diary

      Feb 22, 2023

      Kilvert’s Diary
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Old Un’s Notes

      Jan 12, 2022

      The Old Un’s Notes
      6 min read

    • Article

      Into The Abyss

      Nov 4, 2022

      Into The Abyss
      3 min read

    • Article

      Milton Gendel's Endless Roman Holiday

      Nov 16, 2022

      In 1954 the - now perhaps rather corny - film Three Coins in the Fountain revealed the urban splendour of Rome to a still shell-shocked world. Baroque façades shimmered in chiaroscuro sunlight; flights of staircases rushed to distant obelisks. The fa

      3 min read

    • Article

      Force of Nature

      Jun 4, 2018

      Force of Nature
      16 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Careless People

    4/5

    68 ratings7 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Excellent foray into the time of Fitzgerald and the alchemy of of Gatsby
    • 4/5
      If you think Gatsby is one of the greatest 20th century novels as I do, then this is a very useful companion to it. Some excellent analysis of the novel well interspersed with biographical details and social history - although perhaps rather too much on the notorious murder case which may have influenced the novel.
    • 4/5
      I love true crime, and I love The Great Gatsby (I think its concluding sentences are honestly some of the finest ever written), so that I would love this book seemed like a given. And I did love this book, even more than I expected.Churchwell explores the fascinating, heartbreaking, scandalous. and, yes, careless, lives of the Fitzgeralds. From Scott and Zelda's seemingly never-ending alcohol consumption and partying, to Scott's deep felt disappointment at the lack of commercial success for what he considered his finest writing, and Zelda's descent into a series of heartrending breakdowns, Churchwell makes their world and the time period they lived in come alive in vivid color.Churchwell also expertly weaves in the still-unsolved Hall-Mills murder case, and how its scandal, adultery, and immediacy as (tabloid) newspaper fodder may have influenced The Great Gatsby.History, mystery, and literary theory all combine to make for a fascinating non-fiction read.
    • 3/5
      Having recently read Z, I had high hopes for this book. While I found it interesting, with a lot of interesting historical detail from the 20s, it was not an easy read. It got to the point I felt like I was reading a doctoral dissertation. I would recommend it to anyone who is an avid fan of Fitzgerald and the Gatsby era.
    • 4/5
      3.5. The nineteen twenties were a very interesting period in history and what made Fitzgerald so fascinating is that his novels documented this period, the Jazz age, perfectly. A fascinating look at this time, of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, their opulent lifestyle, his struggles to keep writing amidst the constant partying and drinking. Churchwell does a wonderful job bringing this period to light as well as showing the reader a couple in constant flux. Their is a double thread to this book, as a murder took place not far from were Scott and Zelda were living, that made the papers daily. It was a double murder, an adulterous relationship and the author ascertains that this may have influenced Fitzgerald and the plot of the Great Gatsby. I also loved that the author took pains, unlike many of the books on the Fitzgeralds, to show just how hard Scott tried to take care of his mentally ill wife, Zelda. My only complaint is that I wish the author would have spent a little less time covering the extensive partying, sometimes I found this to be over kill. Other than that this was an amazing look back at a time past and a couple that seemed larger than lif
    • 4/5
      In 1922, Fitzgerald was 26, returning to New York for the publication of Tales of the Jazz Age. Already a wildly successful writer, he and his vivacious wife Zelda soon became absorbed in the glamorous lifestyle of jazz age NY. Prohibition meant that booze was flowing more freely than ever before, reckless drivers were killing people right and left, and a slate of murders became media sensations. In Careless People, Sarah Churchwell sets out to investigate how these factors and more influenced Fitzgerald's writing of The Great Gatsby.Churchwell founds her book about the genesis of The Great Gatsby on the premise that Fitzgerald was greatly influenced by one particular murder. The police investigation and subsequent trial were total farces, and the case, proclaimed the “crime of the decade” dominated newspaper headlines in 1922.Although this concept is an interesting one, I don’t think it really had the legs to stand on its own. It felt like Churchwell needed an new, original perspective from which to write about the origins of The Great Gatsby, and this murder was something that hadn’t really been written before in connection to Fitzgerald’s writing.That said, I really loved this book. Churchwell’s research is impeccable; she dives deep into newspaper articles and clippings, correspondence, diaries, and numerous other sources to examine everything that could have influenced Fitzgerald's writing. Gatsby is one of my favorite books, and it was fascinating to read about how it came to be.Although Careless People‘s founding premise is a bit weak, it is a stunning portrait of jazz age New York, an engaging look at the glamorous, tragic lives of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, and a compelling biography of a book frequently hailed The Great American Novel.I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. See the full review at Books Speak Volumes.
    • 5/5
      Beautifully published book complete with extracts from contemporary newspapers, lengthy quotes from The Great Gatsby. Churchwell makes a strong case for her belief that Fitzgerald soaked up early 1920s American crime reporting - alongside his own party-mad, gin-soaked lifestyle to create a powerful account of the myth of the American dream. So good to read a well written piece of non-fiction.