Classical Historical Fiction

Author:  Margaret Mitchell

Title:  Gone With the Wind

Genre:  Classical Historical Fiction

Publication Date:  1936

Number of Pages: 1037

Geographical Setting:  Atlanta and Tara Georgia, United States

Time Period:  Before, During and after the Civil War, 1861-1864

Plot Summary:  Scarlett O'Hara grew up in Georgia on a plantation called Tara.  She was crazy over a man by the name of Ashley Wilkes.  She tried to get him to marry her with a lovely green dress at a barbecue, but it didn't happen.  She was also noticed by a man named Rhett Butler, who was very handsome.  He made the story more interesting.  Ashley married a lady by the name of Melanie, while Scarlett married Melanie's brother Charles.  Charles and Ashley both went to the war, but Charles died before the war started.  Melanie and Scarlett became like sisters and she always wanted to know about Ashley.  After Charles died, she went to live with Charles mother in Atlanta, Georgia and Melanie came along.  They helped the soldiers who came to the hospital from the war.  Scarlett made a lovely nurse.  She loved Atlanta, but missed home.  Rhett Butler helped her back to her home in Tara when the troops where getting close to Atlanta.  She took Prissy, her negro maid, her child, Melanie and her child.  She helped Melanie delivery her baby before she left.  When she went back to Tara, she found all the other plantations burned except for hers.  She also found that her mother, Ellen died a couple of days ago.  Her dad Gerald was very upset.  He never got over her death.  She had to take care of Melanie and her two sisters.  Melanie was sick from the pregnancy and the sisters from Typhoid fever.  When the war was over Ashley came back and worked on the farm.  Scarlett also had to work in the fields because the negro slaves ran away.  They had house slaves and they didn't do field work.  Scarlett also managed the fiances and had to pay the taxes.  She was charged another 300 dollars for taxes, which she didn't have.  Ashley told her about Rhett Butler, who was in Atlanta and had lots of money.  She didn't have a nice dress, so she took the curtain down and made a dress.  She went back to Atlanta and found Rhett was in jail.  She tried to get him to marry her, but he wouldn't do it.  When she left the jail, she got a ride with a Mr. Hamilton who had a store.  She married him, so could get the money for the taxes.  Rhett Butler did help her buy some sawmills because Frank Hamilton, her husband wanted sawmills to make money.  Scarlett ended up running the sawmills even though the women in town spoke about it.  Frank and Ashley joined the Klan and one night they were shot at and Frank died, but Ashley was only wounded.  Scarlett had feeling for Ashley even though he married another woman, but Rhett loved her.  Scarlett married Rhett after her second husband died.  A lot of people didn't like Mr. Butler because of the way he got his money and he had Yankee friends.  Rhett told Scarlett she would have a good time with her and she did.  She loved him because of his money, but was also falling in love with him.  Scarlett didn't tell Rhett that she loved him until the end when Melanie died and she found out that Ashley didn't love her and never will.  Her left her and she went back to her home in Tara.

Subject Headings:  Rhett Butler, Civil War, Husband and wife, Married people, Scarlett O'Hara, Plantations, Reconstruction (United States history), Survival, Triangles (Interpersonal relations, War and Women.

Appeal:  Story-line: Character-driven;
Tone:  Dramatic;
Writing Style:  Engaging.

Fiction Read a-likes by Novelist:

 An interesting novel on the Civil War.
      




                       
 An interesting novel about Rhett Butler.

An interesting novel about women's relationships.




Non-fiction Read a-likes

The Civil War: a concise history (Feb 2011)
By Louis P. Moser
A year by year chronicle of the Civil War, highlighting major political, social, and military events, and looking at the causes and consequences of the conflict.

Civil Wars: women and the crises of Southern nationalism
(Jan 1989) by George C. Rable

The Civil War: an illustrated history
by Geoffrey C. Ward (Sept 1990)
Portrays the lives of politicians, soldiers and slaves during the Civil War.