Product Description

Lanie Sullivan and Belle Blakely never meet, but they share a fascination for all things Gone With the Wind-especially Belle Watling, a character in the book, and Ona Munson, the actress who portrays Belle in the movie. Lanie meets Ona in 1939, during the three-day movie premiere. When Lanie thwarts a thief in Ona's hotel room, Ona rewards Lanie with a gift-a gift originally given to Ona by Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mitchell.
More than sixty years later, as she helps prepare a museum dedicated to Gone With the Wind for its Grand Opening, Belle reads Lanie's letters to Ona and is intrigued by Lanie's references to the gift. Margaret Mitchell died in 1949; Ona Munson in 1955. What about Lanie? Belle begins a quest to discover what the gift was that connects the three women, where it is now-and what happened to Lanie Sullivan.

I saw Gone With the Wind for the first time when it was re-released in 1947. My girlfriends and I had just read the book. Like millions and millions of girls before and after, we were spellbound.
We formed a fan club called the FMDIDGADs, which stood for "Frankly, my dear I don't give a . . ."-well, you know the word. For parochial school seventh graders, that was very risky. What if Sister Ceciliana heard us?
We were besotted.
Kathryn Witt's The Secret of the Belles captures the powerful spell that Gone With the Wind casts over two young women generations apart. Her writing shows her love for the book and film as well as her careful research. This is a beautiful read, and another amazing tribute to the phenomenon that is Gone With the Wind.
~ Cammie King Conlon, "Bonnie Blue Butler," Gone With the Wind

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #658228 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 140 pages

Customer Reviews

Fun Read for a Young Girl
The Secret of the Belles, a fun children's novel about two thirteen year old girls, separated by seven decades but connected by a love for a movie, would be a perfect read for any young teenage girl. Lanie Sullivan and Belle Blakely share a love for Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind and a fascination for Belle Watling and the actress who portrays her in the movie. The book has everything to keep a reader entertained, danger, mystery, and even boys!

There are two story lines in the book. The first is about Lanie Sullivan, a teenager who adores anything related to the novel and manages to meet the actress portraying her favorite character while in Atlanta for the movie's premiere in 1939. Most of Lanie's story line focuses on this, though there is a little bit at the end that occurs five years later as she is on a train headed for Hollywood, finally realizing her dream to become an actress. The second story line follows Belle Blakely, a teenager in modern day Marietta, Georgia who also loves Mitchell's novel and is helping prepare a museum, dedicated to all things involving the movie and novel, for its big grand opening. Belle discovers letters written by Lanie to Ona Munson, the actress that portrayed Belle Watling in the movie and becomes determined to discover what happened to Lanie. During her quest she discovers that she and Lanie have even more of a connection than just a love for Gone With the Wind, uncovers a coveted piece of GWTW memorabilia, and eventually answers the question of what happened to Lanie.

Even though this book is aimed at a younger audience I found it an entertaining story to read. I really enjoyed how the author continuously wove Lanie and Belle's stories together in many different (and sometimes unexpected) ways. The two main characters were quite likeable and it was fun to read about their love for Mitchell's extraordinary novel. Lanie's constant repetition of names was a tad annoying at times but that may just be the way that young girls were expected to talk in the late 1930s. Belle's constant speechlessness around the boy she liked was so accurately described the author could have been talking about any girl in America! The descriptions of the events dealing with the 1939 premiere of the movie seem very accurate and well researched. I really enjoyed the parts that discussed the many different artifacts that were being included in the museum. The ending of the novel is a bit bittersweet in that Belle gets to enjoy her first ball, wearing a piece of GWTW movie memorabilia, but she has also discovered Lanie Sullivan's eventual fate. This would be a great book for any young girl and perhaps it might spark a love and appreciation for GWTW in yet another reader.


Reviewed for Bookpleasures

A Great Read
Although this novel is directed to a different audience than I am, I really enjoyed reading it. It is a perfect book to curl up on a cold winter day to read in one sitting. It takes you back and forth from the modern day to December 1939, when GWTW premiered. It captures the excitement felt in Atlanta then, from a first-person perspective, then reconnects with a modern-day GWTW fan. There is more than one "secret" among the Belles, and lots of plot-twists and surprises. Historically, it is accurate in detail, and it treats the subject material in a sensitive manner appropriate for young readers. The author is very talented and clever in presenting her material in an entertaining way, drawing in her readers to truly empathize with her characters.

A Charming Read-- a must have for GWTW fans (of all ages)
Even though this book is listed as a "children's" book, I found The Secret of the Belles a delightful read even for a 30 year old! The author of this fictional book was inspired by Ona Munson, the actress who played Belle Watling in GWTW, the real-life Marietta GWTW Museum located in Georgia, and the three day premiere of the famous film. The two main characters of the story, Lanie and Belle, are both 13 years old and share a common love for all things Gone with the Wind. Belle, living in the present day and age, is interning at the GWTW Museum and discovers a packet of letters from the 1940s that are written by Lanie. These letters were acquired by the museum's resident GWTW collector from Ona Munson's estate. Belle quickly becomes engrossed in the content of Lanie's letters - Lanie is about to travel to Atlanta for the grand GWTW Premiere festivities! But things don't go as planned.

This book has it all... mystery, intrigue, danger... teenage awkwardness and even boys! I hope this book will be enjoyed by a new generation of Gone with the Wind fans. The first time I saw the film I was in 7th grade and nearly the same age as the main characters. As soon as I saw the film, I was hooked. And here I am more than 15 years later still infatuated with the book, film, and its stars. This charming story is a must read for all GWTW fans- new and old!