F·S·菲茨傑拉德（Francis Scott Fitzgerald，1896—1940）

二十世紀美國最傑齣的作傢之一，以詩人和夢想傢的氣質為“爵士時代”吟唱華麗挽歌。短短四十四年的人生，他的遭際幾經跌宕起伏，在名利場中看盡世態炎涼。二十世紀末，美國學術界權威在百年英語長河中選齣一百部最優秀的小說，凝聚瞭菲茨傑拉德纔華橫溢的兩部長篇小說《瞭不起的蓋茨比》和《夜色溫柔》均榜上有名，前者更高居第二位。

With an Introduction and Notes by Henry Claridge, Senior Lecturer, School of English, University of Kent at Canterbury Tender is the Night is a story set in the hedonistic high society of Europe during the "Roaring Twenties". A wealthy schizophrenic, Nicole Warren, falls in love with Dick Diver - her psychiatrist. The resulting saga of the Diver s troubled marriage and their circle of friends, includes a cast of aristocratic and beautiful people, unhappy love affairs, a duel, incest, and the problems inherent in the possession of great wealth. Despite cataloguing a maelstrom of interpersonal conflict, Tender is the Night has a poignancy and warmth which springs from the quality of F. Scott Fitzgerald s writing and the tragic personal experiences on which the book is based.