Gone with the Wind (novel)

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Gone with the Wind
Cover of the first edition
Written by: Margaret Mitchell
Central Theme:
Synopsis: Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of poverty following Sherman's destructive "March to the Sea". (Wikipedia)
Genre(s): Historical fiction
First published: June 30, 1936
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Gone with the Wind is a novel by Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936. The story is set in Clayton County and Atlanta, both in Georgia, during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era. It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of poverty following Sherman's destructive "March to the Sea". This historical novel features a coming-of-age story, with the title taken from the poem “Non Sum Qualis eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae”, written by Ernest Dowson.

Mitchell received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for the book in 1937. It was most famously adapted into the 1939 film , which has been considered to be one of the greatest movies ever made. Gone with the Wind was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.

Tropes used in Gone with the Wind (novel) include:
  • Heroic Dimples: Scarlett exploits this trope by consciously smiling demurely at potential suitors to show her dimple off. Rhett is the only man who notices this, later confronting her when she tries to involve herself in conflicts considered out of her depth, and tells her to stick to what she knows: dances and dimples.