In Paris in the 1920s, Gerald and Sara Murphy were the emotional nexus of a charmed circle. Their friends and acquaintances included many of the major artistic figures of the 20th century, from Fitzgerald and Hemingway to Dorothy Parker and Picasso. Their "Villa America" on the Riviera was an enchanted Never-Neverland for their creative coterie and beloved children. However, the idyll they spun was not to last as they would lose both of their sons in the 1930s, and in the coming decades see most of their dear friends self-destruct. However, throughout their lives they provided all with "a lesson of courage disguised as taste". In this biography, the author, who had access to private family papers, explores how the talented members of their generation triumphed, suffered and manifested their gifts.

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