Mitchell, Margaret

(US, 1900–49)

Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta and educated at Smith College. Her only novel is the much-loved romantic-historical saga Gone With the Wind (1936). In this compulsively readable best-seller the heroine, Scarlett O'Hara, a spoilt Southern belle, is challenged by the cataclysm of the American Civil War and the loss of her family's land and wealth. As she struggles almost single-handedly to re-establish her home, Tara, she becomes involved in a tempestuous relationship with the Byronic hero, Rhett Butler. The sweep of history together with Scarlett's strength of character have ensured Gone With the Wind a permanent place among the classics of popular fiction, and a successful transfer to the Hollywood screen.

Louis de Bernières, Beverley Hughesdon, Sebastian Faulks  SA