Gone with the Wind: Behind the Scenes and Book Cover

Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind is considered one of the classics in literary history. Her southern characters, Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara were immortalized on the big screen by Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh. Although the movie version strays from the original work, the movie's appeal to the public will ensure Gone With The Wind's survival over the course of time. Since film has become a more popular medium than novels, the public image of Gone With TheWind is based primarily on the film rather than the book. Are you aware of the behind-the-scenes happenings of one of the biggest movies of all time? Do you know the scoop beyond the novel's cover?

Did you know?

Producer David O Selnick had to pay a $5000 fine for violating the Motion Picture Production Code because of Rhett Butler's famous "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" response to Scarlett when she finally proclaims her love. The code administrators wanted the line changed to "Frankly, my dear, I don't care."

Margaret Mitchell spent ten years working on Gone With The Wind. Working titles included: 'Tote the Weary Land,' 'Ba! Ba! Black Sheep,' and 'Tomorrow is Another Day.' The final title comes from Ernest Dowson's poem, "Non sum qualis eram" (1896).

Mitchell's heroine, Scarlett O'Hara, was originally named 'Pansy.' Later, she changed the heroine's name to Scarlett. Literary criticism suggests the change points to Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.

Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Gone With The Wind in 1936. She was paid an unprecedented $50,000 for the movie rights for the 1939 film that starred Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh. She accepted the payment, but considered the novel to be "unfilmable."

Another sequel, Donald McCaig's Rhett Butler's People is being published by St. Martin's Press in November. A little over 400 pages, the short book tells Rhett Butler's story: his childhood, his affair with Belle Watling, his blockade efforts in Charleston, and, of course, his up and down love affair with Scarlett O'Hara.

Gone With The Wind has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list since the original publication date, once in 1986 and again in 1991. The novel sold a record breaking 50,000 copies on one day, 1 million copies during the first six months in publication, and 1.5 million copies during the first year. To date, the novel has outsold every hard-back book published, with the exception of The Bible. Gone With The Wind has been translated into 30+ languages, and it is the longest novel transcribed in Braille.

Racial segregation laws in Georgia prevented black cast members from attending the Atlanta premiere of Gone With The Wind in 1939.

The red dress that Rhett insisted Scarlett wear to Ashley's birthday party is actually green in the novel. The movie production chose a red dress to show off the brand new Technicolor advancements in the film industry, a choice reminiscent of Dorothy's slippers in The Wizard of Oz.

Gone With The Wind (the novel and the film) is an invitation for criticism. Criticisms range from literary and historical to racial and gender issues. Despite the critic's opinions, Mitchell's story remains one of the most read and watched sagas of all time. The popular appeal of the story will ensure it's survival for generations.