Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Today in Literary History

On June 30, 1936, the epic novel Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, was published.



Can you imagine what life would have been like without this work or the movie?

The year I started our book group, I knew that my book choice would be Gone With the Wind.  I'd never read it before and knew it was quite a bit different and better than the movie (isn't that always the case?).  I wasn't sure if my fellow groupies would be willing to imbibe a 1000+ page tome, but they reluctantly agreed (we took an additional month to read it).  I loved the book.   I can't remember per se, whether it was a clear winner for everyone, but it met and exceeded all my expectations.   My only disappointment was having obvious preconceived notions of Rhett and Scarlet, considering the number of times I had seen the movie.  Oh how I wish I could have gone into the book and imagined both of those characters in my own little brain.  I wonder what they would have looked like? 

Have you ever read Gone With the Wind?  Did you have any "ode to joy" feelings after reading it?

Check out this article on the History website:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/6/30?catId=7

7 comments:

Linsey said...

I've read it three times. I'll probably read it again someday. I love it, every word of all 1000 pages. I'm not sure if it is the story itself that I love so much or if it is all the other contributing factors that make me love all things "Gone With the Wind" -- Margaret Mitchell the recluse, David O. Selznick's search for the perfect Scarlet, the backdrop of the Civil War, Vivien Leigh's strange life and on and on. Thank you for reminding me that I am and forever will be a "Gone With the Wind" devotee.

Belle said...

I've never read Gone with the Wind - and now I'm thinking it's high time I gave it a go. (I've never seen the movie, either, so I guess I'll be coming at it without any preconceptions about the characters!)

jayna said...

I re-read this every few years after my first venture when I was 16. I echo Linsey's sentiments...it's a 5 star EVENT, this novel.

I remember when I finished it the first time, I was actually depressed that Scarlett and Melly and Rhett were not in fact REAL! :)

A Bookshelf Monstrosity said...

Ahhh, Rhett.

I've read the book twice and seen the movie literally hundreds of times.

Amused said...

This book made me the historical fiction nut that I am today! I absolutely love this book and your ode was great!

Anonymous said...

I haven't read Gone With the Wind, but I have read The Blue Bicycle, which is touted as the french version of Gone With the Wind. The Blue Bicycle is actually the first in a series of three, and they are quite entertaining.

Congrats on being featured in LR Family (that's how I found you). I wanted to invite you to link up with the Arkansas Women Bloggers group. We'd love to have you, and are also looking for guest posters if you are ever interested.

http://arkansaswomenbloggers.blogspot.com/

Cheers,
Fawn

Lucy said...

I just finished it this week and I think it's the first 1000+ page book that I didn't want to end. I loved it. So, so much more than a romantic story about Scarlett and Rhett and the book...on my goodness...the book has a depth that a great movie just can't touch.