"Frankly, my dear Scarlett, I don't give a damn.", was the end of the story for Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara {Hamilton Kennedy Butler} and the ultimate cliffhanger for millions of readers of Gone With the Wind. There have been multiple re-workings and re-imaginings of Margaret Mitchell's epic saga to try and produce an answer "to what happened next?", however, loyal readers would only be satisfied with an answer from the author herself. Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind: A Bestseller's Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood promises just that. Authors Ellen F. Brown and John Wiley, Jr. examine the life and writings of a disorganized Southern writer and how her incomplete manuscript became one of the most beloved pieces of American Literature. In a story almost as intriguing as Mitchell's own piece of work, Brown and Wiley were afforded unprecedented access to correspondence and GWTW records. They bring us the whole story and finally attempt to tell us what happened to our star-crossed lovers*.
*Margaret Mitchell was laid to rest beside her husband John in the Marsh family plot in Historic Oakland Cemetery less than a half-mile from where I live. I read GWTW every year and every year, I visit Ms. Marshall to read the final pages and hope for a "sign" as to how things turned out for Scarlett and Rhett. So far, she hasn't answered this reader. You better believe I'll be looking for that answer from Brown and Wiley and y'all should too!
