Writing 'Gone With The Wind'

Today In History with The Retrospectors

Margaret Mitchell’s first and only novel, Gone With The Wind, was released on 30th June, 1936, and delighted readers and critics alike, shifting millions of copies and scooping the Pulitzer Prize.

But its romanticised tales of life in the South - complete with glorified depictions of slave labour and the Confederate Army - was divisive for African-Americans at the time, and is now recognised as overtly racist.

Mitchell, a ‘flapper’ who had a racy private life compared to her cohort, died after being struck by a car. But her magnum opus remains consistently ranked as one of America’s favourite books.

In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Martin Luther King, Jr. was involved in the premiere of the movie; consider an alternative name for the novel's lead character; and reveal the mind-boggling amounts of money paid for copies of the book, and the film rights…

Further Reading:

• ‘Margaret Mitchell's 'Gone With The Wind' Turns 75’ (NPR, 2011): https://www.npr.org/2011/06/30/137476187/margaret-mitchells-gone-with-the-wind-turns-75

• ‘The Long Battle Over ‘Gone With the Wind’’ (The New York Times, 2020):

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/movies/gone-with-the-wind-battle.html

• ‘Gone with the Wind - By Margaret Mitchell. FULL Audiobook’ (Complete Audiobooks, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6mpo9-P5BQ

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.

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