Here, in Fitzgerald’s most limpid style, is the real Hollywood in its heyday. From the least conspicuous actress-to-be to the towering artist-autocrat Stahr, the full chorus of film-land – ruthless moguls, faded actors, broken hack-writers – stamp out their steps in the daily routine of business, alcoholism, and promiscuity.

A synopsis, prepared from Scott Fitzgerald’s notes, completes the story he never finished.