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

'A suggestive, almost musical evocation of the spirit of the time', Thomas Powers, London Review of Books

Since its publication in 1925, The Great Gatsby has become one of the world's best-loved books. Careless People tells the true story behind F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, exploring in newly rich detail its relation to the extravagant, scandalous, and chaotic world in which the author lived.

With wit and insight, Sarah Churchwell traces the genesis of a masterpiece, mapping where fiction comes from, and how it takes shape in the mind of a genius. Careless People tells the extraordinary tale of how F. Scott Fitzgerald created a classic and in the process discovered modern America.

'A must-read, as glamorous as it is clever' Viv Groskop, Red book of the Month

'Investigates subject after subject with subtle intelligence . . . you find yourself caught up in the excitement of her search' John Carey, Sunday Times Book of the Week