Among its four chapters, the first one, which takes up a little more than half of this slim book, is by far the most intriguing. It tracks the life of the German-born immigrant Max von Gerlach, exceptional automobile engineer, veteran of the Great War, and an acquaintance of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Who was The Great Gatsby in real life?

A number of biographers have followed the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald with fascination. A man who was known to build many of his stories around people or events of his own experience, has shown evidence of developing Jay Gatsby on a real life bootlegger acquaintance name Max Gerlach.

Who is Jay Gatsby modeled after?

Scott Fitzgerald supposedly found inspiration for The Great Gatsby. The couple spent five months in a modest cottage, which was next door to multi-millionaire F.E. Lewis, the mysterious man and frequent party host that resembles Jay Gatsby's character.