Gone with the Wind
Margaret Mitchell's monumental epic of the South won a Pulitzer Prize, gave rise to the most popular motion picture of our time, and inspired a sequel that became the fastest selling novel of the century. It is one of the most popular books ever written: more than 28 million copies of the book have been sold in more than 37 countries. Today, more than 60 years after its initial publication, its achievements are unparalleled, and it remains the most revered American saga and the most beloved work by an American writer...
Where Gone with the Wind keeps showing up
Two of our editors' lists feature this novel.
Books in conversation with Gone with the Wind
A few of the closest reads from our full list.
What you might want to know about Gone with the Wind
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation, watches her world collapse when the Civil War comes for it. Across the war and Reconstruction, she keeps clawing the family land back. Rhett Butler watches.
Yes. Gone with the Wind has been challenged and removed from various American schools and reading lists for its romanticized depiction of the Confederacy and slavery. The 1939 film has also been the subject of streaming-platform debates over historical context warnings.
Yes. Gone with the Wind won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The 1939 film adaptation won 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Vivien Leigh.
Gone with the Wind was written by Margaret Mitchell, published in 1936 by BCA.
Gone with the Wind is 947 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Gone with the Wind takes most readers 14 to 21 hours to finish.
Gone with the Wind is a standalone novel by Margaret Mitchell, not part of a series.
Gone with the Wind is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
