Fitzgerald and Hemingway: A Dangerous Friendship.

London:: Andre Deutsch,, 1995.. First Printing of the First US Edition. A Fine tight copy in a Fine unclipped dust jacket. Using previously unpublished letters and other research material Matthew Bruccoli does much to deflate the mythical love/hate relationship between two of the literary giants of expatriate years in Paris. Bruccoli, who is a noted expert on the lives and works of these two writers, masterly analyses their jealousies, insecurities, and accomplishments. Hemingway and Fitzgerald first met in Paris in 1925, and Fitzgerald, who had already published The Great Gatsby, recommended Hemingway to his editor, Maxwell Perkins. Despite Fitzgerald's literary success, their relationship was based on his admiration for Hemingway, who was appalled by Fitzgerald's rocky marriage to Zelda and his lack of writing discipline. Bruccoli offers excerpts from Hemingway's letters to Fitzgerald and Perkins as evidence that Hemingway's unflattering portrait of Fitzgerald in A Moveable Feast was distorted. Although Fitzgerald's alcoholism strained their friendship, Bruccoli argues that Hemingway's intense dislike of Zelda, whom he blamed for her husband's heavy drinking, and his harsh criticism of Fitzgerald's writing also weakened the tie between them.