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The Novel
The thrilling tale of "Gone With The Wind" was written by a first time writer, Margaret Mitchell. While layed up with a sprained ankle, Mitchell's husband(John Marsh) brought loads of books home for her to read. Finally she exhausted the supply of books at the local library and Marsh told her that now she would have to write her own novel. She asked him what she was suppose to write about and he replied as many publishers always do, "write what you know". Marsh brought home a Remington typewriter the very next day and Margaret began writing. Starting with the last chapter first, the story unfolded in waves of inspiration. There were many manuscripts around their apartment that contained parts of the novel. Margaret wrote what she had heard about her entire life, the Civil War and Reconstruction. As a child, Margaret listened to tale after tale about these times, and this was what she decided to write about. |
Margaret was shy about letting others know she was working on a novel. Even her friends seldom knew. But then a friend did find out. Lois Cole told her boss, Harold Latham, at Macmillan Publishing in New York City that a friend of hers was writing a novel. Then on a scouting trip in the south, Latham asked Margaret about the novel. She stealthily denied any knowledge of it. He finally asked her in front of her friends, hoping then she would give it up. But even then, Margaret denied it's existance. Latham went back to his hotel empty handed. Margaret, meanwhile, was being ribbed by her friends about her writing a novel. One even said that she wasn't the type that could write a successful novel. Well, that must have angered Margaret, for she went straight home to retrieve the manuscripts that were placed all over the apartment. She gathered them together and met Latham in the lobby of his hotel. Latham carried it home fo read, in pieces and without the first chapter. But even then, it was one of the greatest novels ever written. And that is how "Gone With The Wind" came to be. |
Tid-Bits
- "Gone With The Wind" was published on June 30, 1936.
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- "Scarlett O'Hara" was originally "Pansy O'Hara", but the publishers didn't like that name, and Mitchell agreed to change it to Scarlett.
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- On the first day of publication, over 50,000 copies were sold.
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- Margaret Mitchell won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937 for "Gone With The Wind".
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- "Gone With The Wind" has sold more copies worldwide than any other book except the Bible.
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