Amory, Son of Beatrice
- Book 1 is called "The Romantic Egoist," so you just know you're going to dislike the protagonist.
- Meet Amory Blaine, a young boy with rich parents who is pretty much spoiled from the day he's born. His mother might be the most self-involved person you'll ever meet, and since Amory is her son, she does everything she can to build up his ego.
- The book tells us about how Beatrice Blaine (Amory's mom) returned to America from Europe and married her husband out of boredom and sadness. How's that for romance?
- By the time Amory is five, you can already see how much his mom has molded him into a little prince who likes to dress well and be the center of attention. He's so spoiled he even calls his mother Beatrice by her first name instead of saying "Mommy."
- Even on days when Amory wants to get out of bed and do stuff, his mom insists that he sleep in. She thinks this will help make him calm and refined. Meanwhile, Amory spends a lot of his youth listening to his mom complain about her bad nerves. He also hears her talk about him and how great he is at parties. So he starts to believe it.
- Amory travels the world with his mother and develops a superficial knowledge of high culture. But when he's thirteen, he has a scare when his appendix bursts in Italy. He's rushed to the hospital and his mom has a nervous breakdown afterwards.
- Beatrice Blaine thinks that her son would benefit from knowing a family friend from the Catholic Church named Monsignor Darcy.
- His whole young life, Amory tries to conceal from other boys just how superior he thinks he truly is.
- One day, Amory gets an invitation to a girl's winter party. He shows up late, though, and seems to have missed the whole thing. But then he finds out that the party has gone off to a club and that the girl hosting it—named Myra—has stuck around to wait for him.
- The two grab a coach to the club and get into a deep conversation. Amory talks his way into kissing Myra. But when she asks him to kiss her a second time, he refuses and she loses her temper. The two of them arrive at the club and don't speak to each other for the rest of the night.
- As Amory goes through school, his instructors consider him lazy, unreliable, and clever only in a superficial way. Girls continue to like him because of his ego and his good looks.
- The next time he goes home to stay with his mother, Amory learns that his mom has had a nervous breakdown due to alcoholism. But his mom wears this fact like a badge of honor, as though any upper-class woman should have a breakdown at some point.
- Amory tells his mom that he wants to leave home for prep school. She'd like to have him nearby, but she gives in and lets him go to St. Regis School in Connecticut. Before he goes, though, she'd like for him to visit her old friend, Monsignor Darcy.
- Amory goes to see Monsignor Darcy, thinking that the visit is a waste of time. But the two hit it off immediately and Amory realizes he can talk to Darcy about deep ideas he'd never mention to his mom.
- Amory meets an important man at Darcy's house whose name is Thornton Hancock. Hancock sees potential in Amory but worries that he'll be ruined by the superficial world of American prep school.
- Amory's first year at school isn't great. He's lonely because he's isolated from others; but he's isolated because he thinks he's so superior to everyone. One instructor tries to chat with him about his exclusion, but Amory walks out in a huff because he thinks he's above talking to instructors about this stuff.
- Amory gets romantic feelings for the first time when he sees a girl acting on a Broadway stage. His buddy Paskert talks about the girl, which only makes Amory think about her more.
- The next couple of years at St. Regis are much better for Amory, who becomes a bit of a football hero.
- Over time, St. Regis strips Amory of the superficial pride that his mother has taught him. But it doesn't take away the deeper, denser pride that goes to his core.
- Amory makes friends with his class president, Rahill, and the two get into the habit of talking late into the night. One night, Amory calls someone they know a "slicker" and the two of them spend the night discussing exactly what it means to be a "slicker."
- By the end of prep school, Amory decides that he wants to go to Princeton. And just like that, he gets in and goes.