The Real Great Gatsby

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.3 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 April 2024

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A wealthy man in his early 30s. An army man. A German immigrant. A bootlegger. A lover. Who was Jay Gatsby? And if he was based on a real person, what do we know about them?

To delve into one of the most famous fictional characters of the 20th century (from one of Don's favourite authors, F Scott Fitzgerald) Don speaks to Joe Nocera. Joe is the host of a new eight-part investigation that delves into the shrouded mystery behind the person who claims to have inspired The Great Gatsby.

American Dreamer: Who Was Jay Gatsby? An Audible Original podcast, is out now.

Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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Transcript

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0:15.4	At 9 o'clock, one morning late in July, Gatsby's gorgeous car lurched up the rocky drive to my door and gave out a burst of melody from its three-noted horn.
0:17.4	It was the first time he had called on me, though I had gone to two of his parties, mounted
0:22.1	in his hydroplane and at his urgent invitation made frequent use of his beach.
0:27.0	Good morning, old sport. You're having lunch with me today, and I thought we'd ride up together.
0:34.8	He was balancing himself on the dashboard of his car with that resourcefulness of movement that is so peculiarly
0:38.8	American. That comes I suppose with the absence of lifting work or rigid sitting in youth or even more
0:45.8	with the formless grace of our nervous sporadic games. This quality was continually breaking through his punctilious manner in the shape of restlessness.
0:57.0	He was never quite still. There was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand.
1:06.5	So reads Nick Carraway's description of his wealthy enigmatic neighbor in F. Scott Fitzgerald's
1:11.8	classic 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, whose central character
1:16.6	lends his name to the title, J. Gatsby, one of the most famous people ever created in the world,
1:23.2	questions still abound about his life, his work, his demise.
1:28.4	A fascinating fictional character who never existed.
1:49.8	Or did he. Don Wildman with you and this is American history hit. It has been called the Great American Novel. F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary masterpiece, The Great Gatsby. great only to return too late in life, realizing as teenagers we'd missed about 75% of the book's
2:05.4	meaning.
2:06.4	I speak for myself.
2:08.2	But Gatsby has endured all of us.
2:10.6	A tale of Jazz Age America after World War I, set against the backdrop of the roaring
2:15.8	20s as an expanding nation stakes its ground on the vastness of human history.
2:21.4	The story's plot about a small collection of New Yorkers from vastly different
2:25.2	backgrounds, economically, geographically, explores the themes of America at large, the whole
2:30.8	culture, one that still advertised the same dream once freely offered to so many
	...

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