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It’s almost the weekend, and we can bet that means you have at least one enticing soirée on your horizon. But will you party as hard as your favorite author? Literary history is filled with notoriously hard-partying writers, from the decadent Fitzgeralds, flouncing about in public fountains with their clothes on, to the permissive Beat poets, flouncing about in mixed company with their clothes off. Romantic, perhaps, but keep in mind that often the most reckless partiers paid for their indulgences in their health or creative ability, so revel with care. Click through to read our list and take some cues (or some warnings, more likely) from ten of the most notorious party animals in literary history, and let us know if we missed your favorite bon vivant or sultry bacchant in the comments.

Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald

Reckless, beautiful and always intoxicated – Jazz Age decadence personified – Scott and Zelda made headlines for their scandalous exploits: jumping into the Plaza Hotel’s fountain fully clothed, joyriding around the city in various states of intoxication, spending night after night partying until dawn with the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. Sadly, their lifestyle — and their mutual dramatic personalities — soon began to backfire, disrupting their marriage, their reputations, and their health.