Robert Steven Williams (left) and Richard “Deej” Webb flank the Fritzgeralds’ granddaughter Bobbie Lanahan.
The belief has been that F. Scott Fitzgerald was thinking of Great Neck, on Long Island, for West Egg. The “white palaces of fashionable East Egg” — and green light at the end of the dock that Jay Gatsby could see before he disappeared in “the unquiet darkness” at the end of Chapter One — were across Manhasset Bay, probably in the area of Sands Point, an enclave north of Port Washington that was once mostly large, lush estates.
But maybe not. Mr. Williams, a music producer-turned-filmmaker, and Richard Webb Jr., who taught high school history for 25 years, have a different and somewhat contrarian view of the Fitzgerald landscape. They make the case that the literary location of the The Great Gatsby may, in fact be inspired by Westport as much as Long Island. It makes for a fascinating discussion about a great American novel.
Robert Steven Williams, Filmmaker, Musician, Novelist & Entrepreneur, Robert’s company, Against the Grain Productions helps not-for-profits tell their story. One of his favorite clients is the Paul Newman founded charity Safe Water Network. Robert’s debut novel, My Year as a Clown, received the silver medal for popular fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards. He was also a finalist in the Great American Fiction contest sponsored by The Saturday Evening Post. He is the director of the documentary Gatsby in Connecticut: The Untold Story.
Richard ‘Deej’ Webb
Deej is a local educator and historian by trade. He is the author of book Boats Against the Current, the companion to the documentary. Deej is the former head of the New Canaan High School History Department for almost twenty years, and is also an adjunct professor at Sacred Heart University. Considered a local authority of Westport history, he is also on the board of the Westport Historical Society and Fairfield Museum. He’s been giving talks throughout the county on the Fitzgerald’s time in Westport for many years.