Product Description

Spoiled Southern belle Scarlett O'Hara never stops loving the married Ashley Wilkes even as she faces the hardships of life during the Civil War and the changes brought about by Reconstruction. Reprint.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #198735 in Books
• Published on: 1993-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 1024 pages

Amazon.com Review
Sometimes only remembered for the epic motion picture and "Frankly ... I don't give a damn," Gone with the Wind was initially a compelling and entertaining novel. It was the sweeping story of tangled passions and the rare courage of a group of people in Atlanta during the time of Civil War that brought those cinematic scenes to life. The reason the movie became so popular was the strength of its characters--Scarlett O'Hara, Rhett Butler, and Ashley Wilkes--all created here by the deft hand of Margaret Mitchell, in this, her first novel.

Review
This is beyond a doubt one of the most remarkable first novels produced by an American writer. It is also one of the best. -- The New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews

Page-turner, but too full of moonlight and magnolias
This book has a very involving story and I quite literally could not put it down, though I did a few times in outrage over the portrayal of slavery, the Civil War, and the Reconstruction. This novel exemplifies the Lost Cause movement, which showed the Confederacy as noble but outnumbered, and slavery as a benign and paternal institution. It is worth reading for the story, but I shudder to think that some may take what it states as fact. I am not saying that the book should be banned or censored, but it is certainly difficult to read the numerous descriptions of freedmen as lazy and the countless explanations that slaves were just so dumb that they needed the care of white people.

Also, Scarlett O'Hara is a terribly unlikeable character. Whether she is stealing her sister's boyfriend or daydreaming about murdering her only true friend, Ashley, her actions and thoughts will just appall you. She is also phenomenally oblivious, not realizing that Rhett loves her until it is far too late. I was sad that Rhett left her, but who could blame him??

*romantic sigh*
I can't help it. I have been a sucker for this classic story for as long as I can remember. I own the movie and a couple of the collectible dolls. Despite all the many flas people love to point out, this is a flippin' wonderful novel that has managed to stand the test of time.

Irritating and somewhat stereotypical characters? Melodramatic plots? Disgusting romance? Yes, it's all there, and I love every moment of it because Ms. Mitchell is THAT good of a writer and clearly has a passion for this story as she wrote it.

The story follows the life of a girl, Scarlett O'Hara, a young southern belle who is forever tainted by the Civil War that blasts through her land. But she is a stubborn Irish, prepared to do whatever she needs to do to survive, and her character, as much as you love or hate her, is fascinating to observe.

Then there is the romance. Gotta have the romance with this book. The man she continually waits for is Ashley, but we all know that her soulmate is the scoundrel Rhett Butler.

This is a classic, passionate story full of unforgettable drama and characters. That might annoy many people, but I can't read this book without being swept up into a fanciful romance of the Old South.

Timeless!
This novel is, I'm certain you must know by now, a family saga covering the Civil War and Reconstruction in the South from the viewpoint of a wealthy Southern family who live on a plantation called 'Tara.'

Easy to read, 'Gone With the Wind' is not only a family saga, but a fascinating character study of people who did what they had to do in order to survive the devastating war years and the reconstruction that followed. Lives and lifestyles were changed forever with the Civil War. Southerners had to adapt to an entirely foreign way of life and this novel explores how different people coped in the form of well-developed, complex characters.

Difficult to put down, this novel is one you will read over and over again and eventually pass down to your children. Don't hesitate to buy a copy!