She accepts a proposal from Melanie’s brother, Charles, and the two marry two weeks later.Ĭharles dies of pneumonia two months after the war begins, leaving Scarlett alone to raise the child she gives birth to afterwards. Scarlett returns to the party and learns that war has been declared. He compliments Scarlett on her “unladylike” behavior, and Scarlett insults him in return. Observing this scene is the roguish Rhett Butler, who eventually reveals that he was eavesdropping. Ashley tells Scarlett that, although he has feelings for her, he will still marry Melanie because she’s so much like him. At a barbecue at the Wilkes plantation, Scarlett confesses her feelings to Ashley. Scarlett is heartbroken to learn that Ashley Wilkes, a man she loves, is soon to be engaged to Melanie Hamilton. The opening pages of the novel include background and descriptions of life as the Southern states secede from the Union, and young men are called to war after the first shots are fired at Fort Sumter.

Her mother hails from French aristocracy. This edition of the classic love story features an introductory essay offering a context to the novel, by critically acclaimed, Sunday Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory.It’s 1861 in Tara, Georgia, and Scarlett O’Hara-a charming 16-year-old Southern belle-lives on the plantation owned by her successful Irish immigrant father. Since its first publication in 1936, Gone with the Wind has endured as one of the bestselling novels of all time, in spite of its problematic subject matter. It vividly depicts the drama of the Civil War and Reconstruction and is a sweeping story of tangled passion and courage. Widely considered the Great American Novel, and often remembered for its epic film version starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, Gone with the Wind is a superb piece of storytelling.

Above all, it is the story of beautiful, ruthless Scarlett O’Hara and the dashing soldier of fortune Rhett Butler. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the American Civil War, Margaret Mitchell’s magnificent historical epic is an unforgettable tale of love and loss, of a nation mortally divided and a people forever changed. ‘Tomorrow, I’ll think of some way to get him back.

Gone with the wind by margaret mitchell