Beautiful Little Fools

by Jillian Cantor

Overview

“Jillian Cantor beautifully re-crafts an American classic in Beautiful Little Fools, placing the women of The Great Gatsby center stage: more than merely beautiful, not so little as the men in their lives assume, and certainly far from foolish. Both fresh and familiar, this page-turner is one to savor!” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code

“Jillian Cantor’s shifting kaleidoscope of female perspectives makes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic tale of Jazz Age longing and lust feel utterly modern. A breathtaking accomplishment.”—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue 

USA Today bestselling author Jillian Cantor reimagines and expands on the literary classic The Great Gatsby in this atmospheric historical novel with echoes of Big Little Lies, told in three women’s alternating voices.

On a sultry August day in 1922, Jay Gatsby is shot dead in his West Egg swimming pool. To the police, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide when the body of George Wilson, a local mechanic, is found in the woods nearby.

Then a diamond hairpin is discovered in the bushes by the pool, and three women fall under suspicion. Each holds a key that can unlock the truth to the mysterious life and death of this enigmatic millionaire. 

Daisy Buchanan once thought she might marry Gatsby—before her family was torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy that sent her into the arms of the philandering Tom Buchanan.

Jordan Baker, Daisy’s best friend, guards a secret that derailed her promising golf career and threatens to ruin her friendship with Daisy as well.

Catherine McCoy, a suffragette, fights for women’s freedom and independence, and especially for her sister, Myrtle Wilson, who’s trapped in a terrible marriage.

Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, when all three of their lives are on the brink of unraveling. Each woman is pulled deeper into Jay Gatsby’s romantic obsession, with devastating consequences for all of them.

Jillian Cantor revisits the glittering Jazz Age world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, retelling this timeless American classic from the women’s perspective. Beautiful Little Fools is a quintessential tale of money and power, marriage and friendship, love and desire, and ultimately the murder of a man tormented by the past and driven by a destructive longing that can never be fulfilled. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063051263
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	02/01/2022
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	5,928
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Jillian Cantor is the author of award-winning and bestselling novels for adults and teens, including In Another Time, The Hours Count, Margot, and The Lost Letter, which was a USA Today bestseller. She has a BA in English from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Arizona. Cantor lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/01/2021

Cantor (Half Life) succeeds brilliantly with this audacious revisionist murder mystery featuring characters from The Great Gatsby. In Fitzgerald’s version, it was George Wilson who killed Jay Gatsby. Here, Cantor imagines a woman shooting Gatsby in “heat...anger...and...madness.” Three women figure prominently in the narrative. There’s “careless, carefree” Daisy Buchanan from Louisville, Ky., who “wanted to be someone who mattered”; her ambitious, sporty childhood best friend, Jordan Baker, who is embroiled in a women’s golf circuit scandal; and Catherine McCoy, who leaves the family farm for New York City, where she works for the National Women’s League, attends suffrage meetings, and worries about the bruises on her sister. Cantor successfully captures the style and tone of the 1925 novel with vivid details, such as Daisy’s “lavish honeymoon in the South Seas”; a life of luxury in Santa Barbara, Calif.; a Cannes chateau; and the ultimate extravagances of East Egg. Also featuring into the story is Det. Frank Charles, who believes everyone he interrogates about Gatsby’s death is an “incurable liar.” Loneliness, homesickness, and the “forever endless winding river” of grief pursue Daisy as justice is served. Proving once again that it is “hard to forget the past,” Cantor’s admirably convincing act of literary skullduggery offers many rewards. Agent: Jessica Regal, Foundry Media. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Unlike the original destructive, self-absorbed characters and the pervasive issue of class, Cantor focuses instead on portraying Daisy and her fellow females in a sympathetic light, reimagining and empowering them to speak to readers with a feminist bent.

Booklist

"Both heartbreaking and satisfying, Cantor's gorgeous reimagining of Fitzgerald's classic novel gives each of its female characters the depth she deserves, by placing the women center stage. Jordan Baker and Daisy Buchanan shine as they navigate a gin-soaked summer rife with the dangers of male egos struggling for power. I could not stop turning the pages as I rooted for each of these women, balancing the tightrope of societal expectations while daring to dream. Jillian Cantor is a sparkling talent in the genre of historical fiction."

Meredith Jaeger

In Beautiful Little Fools, Jillian Cantor gorgeously captures the complex lives of the women in The Great Gatsby, creating a delicate and intricate story that dovetails perfectly with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s. It was engrossing to the final page.

Jill Santopolo

Unlike the original destructive, self-absorbed characters and the pervasive issue of class, Cantor focuses instead on portraying Daisy and her fellow females in a sympathetic light, reimagining and empowering them to speak to readers with a feminist bent.

Booklist

"The story of The Great Gatsby is reimagined and retold by three of the novel's women, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Catherine McCoy in this sharp, compelling recasting of the classic."

Town & Country (Must-Read Books of Winter 2022)

"Glittering with intrigue, full of fast-paced tension, and saturated in Jazz Age decadence, this powerful exploration of the women of The Great Gatsby will forever change the way you see the American classic—and perhaps, too, the role of women in all the stories we take for granted."

Kristin Harmel

Jillian Cantor beautifully re-crafts an American classic in Beautiful Little Fools, placing the women of The Great Gatsby center stage: more than merely beautiful, not so little as the men in their lives assume, and certainly far from foolish. Both fresh and familiar, this page-turner is one to savor!

Kate Quinn

This is the untold story we’ve all be waiting for! Lush, beautiful, and dazzling, Jillian Cantor transports readers back to an era of hot summer nights, jazz music, and lounging poolside at one of Jay Gatsby’s infamous parties. This book is an instant classic.

Shea Ernshaw

Jillian Cantor’s shifting kaleidoscope of female perspectives makes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic tale of Jazz Age longing and lust feel utterly modern. A breathtaking accomplishment.

Fiona Davis

2021-10-13
Several women involved with Jay Gatsby would like to set the record straight.

Using The Great Gatsbyas a springboard, Cantor gives voice to that novel’s female characters as they provide their recollections and interpretations of the events leading up to the murder of one of American fiction’s most enigmatic characters. Gatsby’s original narrator, Nick Carraway, swaps his role as narrator for one as a character. The storytelling here is done by Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Catherine McCoy (in a promotion from her small original role as the doomed Myrtle Wilson’s sister). Even Myrtle is heard from, however briefly. As Detective Frank Charles—who harbors the secrets and heartaches which so often haunt the lonely detective of mystery novels—untangles the stories told to him by the women who survive Gatsby, the whodunit aspects of the refocused version of Fitzgerald’s rags-to-riches saga gain momentum. Daisy’s motives for marrying (and staying with) the boorish Tom Buchanan are cast in a new light, as is the backstory shadowing Jordan Baker. Gatsby himself is less of a cipher now that the women are getting their say. Cantor’s title borrows from Daisy’s remark, from Fitzgerald’s original and echoed here, when she was informed her baby was a girl: “a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” (Sadly, the phrase “a beautiful little fool” is reported to have been what Zelda Fitzgerald uttered when told she had borne a daughter.) Less glittering and lyrical than the original, this Gatsbyretelling reveals more about the women in the story by casting them as humans, not decorative baubles.

Cantor asks and answers: Who were the real fools in Gatsby’s world?

Kirkus Reviews

“Jillian Cantor’s shifting kaleidoscope of female perspectives makes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic tale of Jazz Age longing and lust feel utterly modern. A breathtaking accomplishment.” — Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue

“In Beautiful Little Fools, Jillian Cantor gorgeously captures the complex lives of the women in The Great Gatsby, creating a delicate and intricate story that dovetails perfectly with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s. It was engrossing to the final page.” — Jill Santopolo, New York Times Bestselling author of The Light We Lost 

"Glittering with intrigue, full of fast-paced tension, and saturated in Jazz Age decadence, this powerful exploration of the women of The Great Gatsby will forever change the way you see the American classic--and perhaps, too, the role of women in all the stories we take for granted." — Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars

“This is the untold story we’ve all be waiting for! Lush, beautiful, and dazzling, Jillian Cantor transports readers back to an era of hot summer nights, jazz music, and lounging poolside at one of Jay Gatsby’s infamous parties. This book is an instant classic.” — Shea Ernshaw, New York Times bestselling author of A History of Wild Places

“Jillian Cantor beautifully re-crafts an American classic in Beautiful Little Fools, placing the women of The Great Gatsby center stage: more than merely beautiful, not so little as the men in their lives assume, and certainly far from foolish. Both fresh and familiar, this page-turner is one to savor!” — Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code

"Both heartbreaking and satisfying, Cantor's gorgeous reimagining of Fitzgerald's classic novel gives each of its female characters the depth she deserves, by placing the women center stage. Jordan Baker and Daisy Buchanan shine as they navigate a gin-soaked summer rife with the dangers of male egos struggling for power. I could not stop turning the pages as I rooted for each of these women, balancing the tightrope of societal expectations while daring to dream. Jillian Cantor is a sparkling talent in the genre of historical fiction." — Meredith Jaeger, USA bestselling author of The Pilot's Daughter

"Cantor succeeds brilliantly with this audacious revisionist murder mystery featuring characters from The Great Gatsby. . . . Cantor successfully captures the style and tone of the 1925 novel with vivid details. . . . Proving once again that it is 'hard to forget the past,' Cantor’s admirably convincing act of literary skullduggery offers many rewards." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This Gatsby retelling reveals more about the women in the story by casting them as humans, not decorative baubles. Cantor asks and answers: Who were the real fools in Gatsby’s world?” — Kirkus Reviews

“Unlike the original destructive, self-absorbed characters and the pervasive issue of class, Cantor focuses instead on portraying Daisy and her fellow females in a sympathetic light, reimagining and empowering them to speak to readers with a feminist bent.” — Booklist

"The women of The Great Gatsby finally take control is this re-crafting of the American classic . . . Think Big Little Lies but in the jazz age." — E! Online (15 Books to Fall in Love with this February)

"The story of The Great Gatsby is reimagined and retold by three of the novel's women, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Catherine McCoy in this sharp, compelling recasting of the classic." — Town & Country (Must-Read Books of Winter 2022)

From the Publisher

"The women of The Great Gatsby finally take control is this re-crafting of the American classic . . . Think Big Little Lies but in the jazz age."

E! Online (15 Books to Fall in Love with this February)