apiece, an unprecedented cost for a novel at that time.

Even the copy I have (HB) is priced at $21.95 which was a lot to pay for a book in the 1960s!

Did you enjoy the book? Thoughts?

The authoritarians decided that Mitchell wasn't showing enough fealty in flag worship. I can't quote the book directly but there are passages opposing war and how the flags and war were not as important to Scarlett as Tara.

I don't recall reading anything about the flag in the book. Scarlett was not anti-war nor pro-war.

She had one concern and that was herself and how she could be certain to never be poor again after her struggles during/after the Civil War.

I'd suggest everyone read this book if they have time. It is a history lesson within itself and I for one did not know a whole lot about the Civil War. Now I know more about it and was shocked to learn that more people died in the Civil War than any other war the USA has been in!

I won't tell you what I found to be most interesting about the book -- that is re: the main character herself with the one child ...

Anyway, the book has numerous references to General Johnston, an old famous Civil War participant that was very famous in his day. A member of my family from the olden days who was a Confederate swears that she/we are related to him. Is this true? I really do not know.

In any event, I'm glad I finally dusted the book off from the shelf and read all 1000+ pages of it.

I'd recommend it to Americans in particular being there is a lot of history to be found amidst this fictitious tale.

It took me about one month to read it going slowly I must admit.

In any event, I'm sure you'll be fascinated by the book and, as usual, the book is 1000X better than the movie, with or without Mr. Clark Gable that is ...

of Mitchell available on PBS. That's where I got the info. Her life story is as interesting as the book imo. Thanks.

She sounds like a real case ... any one that wrote such a book must be a real case ....

Will look for this documentary/biography. I have never heard of it until just now.

Thanks again!

Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel

For all that may be interested:

http://video.pbs.org/video/2218395311/

and again 20 years later
and again 20 years after that.
and kept seeing different things in it.

reading it when I was living down here in the South did alter the perspective..esp. about the land.

Mitchell was pretty much on the mark about scarlett.

Scarlett was being very practical in her quest for security, actually, given the times, the legal status of women, etc.

there is supposed to be a sequel floating around, not written by Michell.
I made the mistake of reading it.
fortunately, it is quickly forgettable.

there is a biography of Mitchell on wiki, which might be constructive to read. Given her background, it is easy to see how Scarlett came to be.

Publisher's Summary
Rhett Butler's People is the long-awaited novel that parallels the great American novel Gone with the Wind. Twelve years in the making, Rhett Butler's People marks a major and historic cultural event for millions of Gone with the Wind readers, complementing and adding new dimensions to its timeless story.

Through the storytelling mastery of award-winning writer Donald McCaig, the life and times of the enigmatic Rhett Butler unfolds. Meet Rhett as a boy, a free spirit who loved the marshes and the tidewaters of the Low Country, and learn of the ruthlessness of his father, whose desire for control resulted in unspeakable tragedy. Through Rhett's eyes we meet the people who shaped him in other ways: the overseer's daughter, Belle Watling; Rhett's brave and determined sister, Rosemary; Tunis Bonneau, the son of freed slaves and Rhett's childhood friend who understood him like no one else; and Jack Ravanel, whose name became inextricably linked to heartbreak.

And then, of course, there is Scarlett. Katie Scarlett O'Hara, the headstrong, passionate woman whose life is entwined with Rhett's: more like him than she cares to admit, more in love with him than she'll ever know.Rhett Butler's People, brought to vivid and authentic life by the hand of a master, fulfills the dreams of those whose imaginations have been indelibly marked by Gone with the Wind.

©2007 Stephens Mitchell Trusts; (P)2007 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

more at link:
https://www.google.com/search?q=book+about+rhett+butler&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US fficial&client=firefox-a&channel=sb


This one might be interesting:
Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind" by Alexandra Ripley and Stephens Mitchell (Sep 26, 2007)

more at link:
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=sequel+gone+with+the+wind&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=21126719905&hvpos=1o1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=992119414909349634&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_351nhjam9x_b

and it was truly awful. I think the problem is that Ripley was, as I understand it, given certain guidelines about what she could write and not write, and she chose to create a plot where Scarlett goes to Ireland. In the sequel she's really a 20th century person dressed up in 19th century clothes, a real problem in many historical novels. At least Margaret Mitchell was living close enough to the Civil War that she got plenty of stories from people who'd been alive then, so her depiction of people is far more believable.

However, I liked Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig. I liked it a lot.

It is basically Gone With The Wind told from Rhett's Point Of View.

I often think certain books could be quite interesting written from some other characters POV.

added on edit:
And my library has that book, so I'll go get it tomorrow.

I'm not particularly eager to read it. Eventually, because I'm a sucker for these kinds of things, but for me it's always a problem of So Many Books, So Little Time.

I saw the movie when I was 12 and read the book shortly thereafter and reread it at least twice in subsequent years. I'm due for a rereading. I was totally surprised at that age how different the book was from the movie.

Agree with you totally on the sequel. Waste of time and the characters did not ring true.

I'd first read the novel when I was twelve, then reread it several times over the years. The recent reread was the first time in at least twenty years for me.

If GWTW came out today, it would be turned into a three or four part TV series, or possibly two rather long theatrical release movies, although I'd put my money on the former.

What shocked me the most in my recent reading of it is the incredible racism masquerading as fact.

Aside from that, it's an amazing novel. Mitchell knew how to tell a story and the shame is that she didn't write more. It took her a good ten years to write as she did a lot of research to get her Civil War battles correct. She also, I understand, tried very hard to make sure that no character in her book had the same name as any persons who had actually lived in that area back then. The story is that she hadn't even quite finished it and actually had no intention of submitting it for publication when an editor for Macmillan came to Atlanta, and some friend of Mitchell's was bragging that they were going to publish her novel and wasn't it too bad Margaret had nothing to publish. Mitchell got angry enough to give her manuscript to the editor and the rest is history.

There's also a story that the novel had been rejected a number of times before Macmillan accepted it, which simply is not true. The supposed rejections of GWTW is often held up to be a shining example of why people should persist at whatever. Which is not necessarily a bad piece of advice, but a fake story isn't a real good way to deliver the advice.

Bingo!

These are my thoughts as well!

In fact, I was telling someone the other day that this is THE MOST RACIST book I've ever read in my life (and believe me, I've read a lot of books in my day).

Glad to know I'm not alone in this not really all that astute of an observation.

Quite sickening is what I think!

Still have another 300 pages to go until the end of this racist novel, fact or fiction ...

I kept wondering how such a disagreeable brat as Scarlett, maintained as the main character. Usually, it is carved in stone that the main character be appealing. I came away seeing that Rhett and Scarlett were perfect for each other until he grew a conscience.

She's a real manipulator, all right, and she works as the main character only through her strength to get through hellish situations. You could grudgingly admire her for it, but you're right, she's little more than a cunning brat.

reckless adventurer, indifferent mother--Vivienne Leigh (sp?) made her incomparably beautiful and impossible to resist.

Sorry for not acknowledging you sooner. I've been a bit distracted lately had you not guessed!

((((yellerpup)))

Don't worry about it; this has been an intensely busy time for me as well. I take it you are finished with GWTW. Vivienne Leigh, with her exquisite face is the one who made Scarlett O'Hara immortal, IMO.

Good to touch base with you.

but my mother and my sister both insisted that it was a book that I must read. I don't know why I didn't ever get around to it, since my mother's copy is right here on a bookshelf. It must be the size of the book, although I have read many other books of that size. Or maybe it was that I already had so many opinions from the movie, although I was told that the book is so much more than the movie had in it.

I really must read this book, since I have had few books recommended to me by my mother, and she was always right.

Ruth's Journey, by Donald Mccaig, gives a name and history to the Mammy character.

From the NY Times review today:

"What’s really remarkable about what Donald has done is that it’s a book that respects and honors its source material, but it also provides a necessary correction to what is one of the more troubling aspects of the book, which is how the black characters are portrayed,” Mr. Borland said.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/business/media/gone-with-the-wind-prequel-coming-in-october.html?from=books

I too really hated the sequels but enjoyed GWTW for its sheer drama and narrative. I am looking forward to reading the prequel.

Like a couple others on this thread, I read it back when I was about 12, about 1961, and I absolutely couldn't put it down. It left a huge impression on me at that time. Years later, I found myself living in the South and I had a daughter who was about 12 at the time and I bought it for her for a Christmas present and she read it, though I don't remember her reaction to it. She still has her copy and she's about 40. Living in the South, it gave me a new impression on everything. I remember visiting an old house in Charleston and I believe the tour guide said parts of GWTW were filmed there. The tour guides were dressed in costumes from that era. The slave cabins on the property gave me the willies to see. We couldn't believe how small they were with dirt floors.

Closing in on the last 100 pages.

I do not think that this would be a good book for any person under the age of 13 or so should read.

It is extremely racist -- embarrassingly so.

I cannot believe some of the things in this book.

I think that if this was written today, it would likely not get published without some serious editing beforehand.

Will write more about my thoughts on this book when I'm done with it.

It shall then be, "Gone With the Wind" indeed!

character in the book/movie. When I read it as a teen I liked Melanie's character. I'm older and wiser now and cringe at that. She was such a pushover. Plus the main characters in the book started their own KKK branch which was lost on me when I read it as a teen.

But, as you point out, it is in the book.

FYI: Most men of that time/place/era were all in the KKK. I have this piece of info. from my cousin, the one that is related to the old Confederate woman that is long dead and gone that swore she was related to several (not just one ...) famous Confederates of the day. Said woman also claimed to be from a very rich family that held slaves. Was this true? I have no evidence to support any of her claims. She was Indian -- seems to be perhaps one of those removed from Georgia to Arkansas either before or right after an incident called "The Trail of Tears" occurred.

I have other info. that I have personally seen that I shall not elaborate on (!!!) that confirms what my cousin told me ... all of the men of that time/place/era were ALL in the KKK.

They covered that fact up nicely and I agree with you, Melanie Hamilton Wilkes was an idiot IMO.