Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind is a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell. It tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, and her adventures in the American South (and in the plantation of Tara) during the Civil War. During the book, she falls in love with Rhett Butler, a city gentleman. It is one of the most famous books of its time, and was made into a movie with the same name.

The title takes its name from the lines an Ernest Dowson poem: "I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind." (This line also appears in the book.)

Critics and historians have disagreed with its views of Confederacy and the American South before the Civil War. But it is true to the events of the time, and also has a well-written account of the fall of Atlanta in 1864.

The book won the Pulitzer Prize on May 3, 1937.

In 1991, Alexander Ripley wrote its official sequel, Scarlett. Three years later, it was made as a television miniseries.

In 2001, the copyright holders of the original book tried to stop sales of Alice Randall's The Wind Done Gone. (The book retold Mitchell's story from a slave's point of view.) The resulting lawsuit allowed the book to be published; it was seen, based on rules in the First Amendment, as a parody.

Related pages

 * Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century

Other websites

 * The Story behind Margaret Mitchell's book
 * RaveCentral: Gone with the Wind
 * Greatest Movies page
 * Photos of the first edition of Gone with the Wind
 * Photos of the first edition of Gone with the Wind
 * Photos of the first edition of Gone with the Wind