Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell

Gone with the Wind, first published in May 1936, is a Drama, romantic novel written by Margaret Mitchell that won the coveted Pulitzer Prize in 1937. The story is set in Clayton County, Georgia and Atlanta, Georgia during the American Civil War and Reconstruction and depicts the experiences of Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner. The novel is the source of the extremely popular 1939 film of the same name.

Margaret Mitchell penned "Gone with the Wind" in a linear fashion, basing it on the life and experiences of the main character, Scarlett O'Hara, as she grew from a young woman into the responsibilities of adulthood. Mitchell did not make use of sub-plots, memory flashbacks or dream sequences to enhance the storyline or reveal the past. Instead, the plot follows a historically accurate account of the times, beginning in the enchanted world of "Tara," and continuing through its demise. Notably, Mitchell almost entirely skipped over the subject of the morality of slavery or whether the South was justified in pursuing war against the North, preferring to allow the reader to decide for herself based upon the actions or inaction of the novel's characters.