Tender Is the Night: Book 1, Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

In 1935 on the French Riviera, a “dazzling beach” stretches out in front of Gausse’s hotel, an impressive pink building on the coast somewhere between Marseilles and Italy. In recent years, the resort has become an increasingly popular summer destination among “notable and fashionable people.”

The story that is about to unfold, however, begins 10 years earlier, in 1925, when the shore surrounding Gausse’s was derelict and “almost deserted.” Alone in the quiet summer morning, a single hotel guest takes a swim, “grunting” and floundering in the cool water.

It’s a June morning and a woman of “fading prettiness” and her astonishingly beautiful daughter arrive at Gausse’s Hotel. The girl exudes a magical youthfulness and a lovely brightness, “like the thrilling flush of children after their cold baths.” The girl’s body clings to “the last edge of childhood,” as she is nearly 18 years old.

The mother and daughter crave “high excitement,” and they sense that they’re not going to enjoy their stay. The mother announces that they will return home after three days, and they book themselves into the hotel.

Moving with the grace of a ballet dancer, the daughter walks out into the bright sun, noticing the attention directed towards her from strangers on the beach. Heading into the sea to swim, she is surprised by how shallow the water is and turns her gaze towards those on the beach.

As Rosemary walks slowly through the water, she sees “a bald” and hairy man watching her through a monocle. She swims joyously towards the raft, where she finds “a tanned woman with very white teeth.” Back on the shore, the man with the monocle warns Rosemary—in a “slow Oxford drawl”—about sharks, before walking away to pour himself a drink.

Slightly self-conscious, Rosemary scans the beach for a place to sit among the different families. Lying on her bathrobe, she begins to tune into the different voices around her, overhearing snippets of their conversations. She observes a group close to her who she believes might be American; there is a young woman wearing pearls with a “lovely and pitiful” face, “a fine man in a jockey cap,” the tanned woman from before, a man with a “leonine head,” and an “unmistakably Latin young man.” She watches the man in the jockey cap entertain his party, drawing attention from others on the beach, who are also enraptured by his funny “little performance.”

Just then, the man with the monocle interrupts Rosemary, complimenting her on her swimming. He introduces himself as Campion, and invites her to join his party, who he says are keen to meet her. Rosemary reluctantly moves towards the “untanned people,” who Campion introduces as Mrs. Abrams, Mrs. McKisco, Mr. McKisco, and Mr. Dumphry. One of the women announces that she needn’t be introduced to Rosemary Hoyt because she already recognizes her from the last film she starred in. The group fusses over Rosemary, warning her not to get sun burned, and admitting that they might have acted improperly by calling her over.