European Royalty discussion

Hey everyone! Our July 1 - August 1 read will be:

Gone With The Wind



by Margaret Mitchell



We will start the discussion on JULY 1ST (and we can definitely discuss beyond the August 1st "end" date, so don't let the length scare you off).

We'll do the discussion threads broken up by chapters like all the other times, but I figure this thread can be used by those frustrated with amazon's delivery slowness (or your library's slowness) or for any other reason. Just don't discuss the book in any detail here! (General "I'm a couple chapters in and I like it" comments are fine, but we'll start the real discussion threads on JULY 1ST.) For those of you just joining us, you can look through the previous threads in this Monthly Group Read section to see how we did it before because the process will be the same (there's also a thread just like this thread for the other books we've read together).

All right, I'm finally going to dig out my copy - it was my grandmother's! I've never read it.

I loved, loved, LOVED this book when I read it as a teenager, so I'm curious to see if I still do (I also loved, loved, loved Wuthering Heights at the time, but when I went back to it a couple of years ago it just wasn't the same).

This should be a lot of fun. I loved GWTW when I was a teen and read it again about two years ago (as well as Jane Eyre). Really interesting to read those books when you're all grown up. Even more fun is to drag out a copy of the movie and see how once again Hollywood messed with the story....

Misfit wrote: "This should be a lot of fun. I loved GWTW when I was a teen and read it again about two years ago (as well as Jane Eyre). Really interesting to read those books when you're all grown up. Even more ..."

OMG, I know! I love the movie, but they really messed with the story. Did you ever read the sequel Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley? I thought it was decent enough, but the 8-hour made-for-tv movie was TERRIBLE. Ha ha, then my best friend and I wrote pages of notes about the sequel we would write to Scarlett (I think we were 13 or 14). I should try to find those the next time I'm at my parents. :) Our book rocked!

Never read the sequel, looked at the reviews after my last read of GWTW and decided it was not a good idea. I tried the latest *cough* offering from the Mitchell estate, Rhett Butler's People. What a disaster and than god for the library. That thing did serious wall damage.

Yeah, I'm thinking if I read Scarlett now I would probably have a much different opinion. I wish they would have just let GWTW enter the public domain because I would have liked to see the different sequels people came up with. I think people who really loved GWTW would write a better sequel than the one Ripley wrote.

I wish they would leave GWTW alone as well or at least not commission people to write sequels. I didn't mind Ripley's Scarlett (though there were a few things that were a bit far fetched) and found it rather entertaining. The made for TV movie was horrible though...I remember an interview where the director was going on and on about how the actress playing Scarlett had these wonderful, chocolate brown eyes. Ummm....hello?
The newest sequel is absolutely HORRIBLE! The author claims that Rhett Butler's People is so thoroughly researched and it took him years to write it...I hated it. I had hoped to really see more of Rhett and what he was like but it didn't really answer any questions. Its not even mainly from his point of view but from his sisters'! The author recreated scenes we know from GWTW, recreated characters we know and made them so unlike what we're familiar with (really, would Melanie be writing letters to someone whining about how she wants to have "intimate relations" with her husband??). I think what annoyed me the most was the ONLY mention of poor Bonnie's death was in a letter from Melanie to Rosemary. That's it.

Well said Robin. After the first 2-3 scenes he rewrote with his sisters in the book went flying, and can't recall the last time I was sooooo ticked off. It felt like he was plagiarizing.

If he'd just stuck with Rhett and his life leading up to Scarlett they might have had something there - all that time in the California Gold fields has good story potential but no........

Oh, Timothy Dalton made a horrible Rhett Butler! I couldn't stand him or the woman they had play Scarlett (Joanne, Joanna something - can't remember). At the time that came out, my family was only watching one hour of tv a week (per family member - it was a plan to cut back on our tv watching - we could watch each other's hour, so we got about 4 hours a week). Anyway, I "saved" up my weekly hour for TWO months so I could watch that mini-series, and then it was AWFUL. I was SO pissed, especially since I had been so excited!

Joanne Whatley I think was her name. She was married to Val Kilmer for a while. Agreed, Timothy Dalton was not a good Rhett at all!

I also *loved* GWTW as a teenager and was desperate for a sequel and found Scarlet to be decent but by no means as good as the original.

I still count Gone With the Wind as my favorite book, even though I haven't read it in over a decade.
I found it as a teenager, too, and LOVED it. I read it 2 or 3 times before I turned 18 and haven't looked at it since. I'm dying to see what I think of it now.
I'm SO glad we're reading it as a group! This one should have some fun discussion threads :)

I read Scarlett, too, and liked it well enough.
I actually enjoyed Gone With the Wind the movie, but I never saw Scarlett. Sounds like that's a good thing!

I plan to finally read my Eston Press copy. I'm pretty excited.

My husband and I have been getting a book a month from Eston press for the last 15 years. I'm always excited to read one whether for bookclub or here.
We have all of the Best Books of the Twentieth Century and most of the 100 Greatest Books. We've suspended the 100 books a couple of times to get a series like Jane Austin or the King Arthor legend.

There's some I'll never read because they're way above me, but I hope to read the majority. We always knew that when we finally (15 yrs later) built our house, that I would have a library/office. They are displayed so you see them as you walk in. Beautiful books. I'm now glad my husband started the whole buying processs way back when.

Thanks again to all who voted!

Reading these comment made me so happy I didn't ever see the Val Kilmer /Joanne Whately thing ( tho I do like Val Kilmer .) No body can ever really be Rhett or Scarlett for me but Clark G and the incandescently beautiful Vivian. And Timothy Dalton? puh-leeese....
Who do you think actually would be OK. Maybe Angelina Jolie for Scarlett? Daniel Craig for Rhett - providing he had his hair dyed black?

Barbara wrote: "Reading these comment made me so happy I didn't ever see the Val Kilmer /Joanne Whately thing ( tho I do like Val Kilmer .) No body can ever really be Rhett or Scarlett for me but Clark G and the..."

That is a great question! I've never really thought about it before. I love Daniel Craig! :) Angelina seems like a good choice too. Vivian Leigh was so perfect as Scarlett (as was Clark Gable as Rhett).

BTW, I just heard on the radio that GWTW was first released today back in 1936. We have good timing for picking this book!

Oh, I do loveeee Daniel Craig!

Really it would be hard for anyone to play Scarlett after Vivian. Vivian was a sublime Scarlett!

Has anyone ever read On The Road to Tara about the making of GWTW or any of the biographies of Margaret Mitchell?

Emily wrote: "Oh, I do loveeee Daniel Craig!

Really it would be hard for anyone to play Scarlett after Vivian. Vivian was a sublime Scarlett!

Has anyone ever read On The Road to Tara about the making ..."


Never read those but the "Road to Tara" museum is just over in Jonesboro, about 30-45 minutes from where I live. Supposed to have a lot of Margaret Mitchell's things there along with stuff from the movie (I think).

Emily wrote: "Oh, I do loveeee Daniel Craig!

Really it would be hard for anyone to play Scarlett after Vivian. Vivian was a sublime Scarlett!

Has anyone ever read On The Road to Tara about the making ..."

I read a lot about the making of GWTW the movie when I was a teenager, but I can't remember the titles offhand. I know some of the books are still at my parents' house. The books were really fascinating. I haven't read anything about Margaret Mitchell besides what was in the GWTW books. I would like to read about her.

There are a few different books about her on Amazon. Maybe someone here will have a good rec.

I had this book for a while but never got around to reading it. I think I should see if I can dig it up and give it a read:

Road to Tara: The Life of Margaret Mitchell New Haven: Tichnor and Fields, 1983.

I remember seeing a "making of" thing that was made for the 50th in '89, which was good. I think it runs on TCM sometimes.

Memo from David O. Selznick The Creation of "Gone with the Wind" and Other Motion Picture Classics, as Revealed in the Producer's Private Letters, Telegrams, Memorandums, and Autobiographical Remarks has at least one chapter that is devoted entirely to making Gone with the Wind.

I'm so excited to read GWTW for the month of July.
I have had it for some time now and this is the push I need!

Thanks for choosing it.

Susan

I'd forgotten how much the first chapters of GWW set the scene for Georgia as a red county; blood red soil, sunsets, the red-haired Tarletons, the disucssion of scarlet uniforms etc, Scarlett's own name itself I guess.
All somehow suggesting blood and future bloodshed and battle

Barbara wrote: "I'd forgotten how much the first chapters of GWW set the scene for Georgia as a red county; blood red soil, sunsets, the red-haired Tarletons, the disucssion of scarlet uniforms etc, Scarlett'..."

Barbara, I'm going to copy and paste your comment into the GWTW Parts 1-2 thread. It's gotten a little side-tracked over there, so I think this will get on back on course!

I've never read the book. Just found a copy today and I'll be starting it in a few days. It is a real door stopper. Over 1000 pages of very small print.

Sara wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I'd forgotten how much the first chapters of GWW set the scene for Georgia as a red county; blood red soil, sunsets, the red-haired Tarletons, the disucssion of scarlet uniform..."
Thanks Sara - I didn't realise I was on the wrong thread myself , sorry

Barbara wrote: "Sara wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I'd forgotten how much the first chapters of GWW set the scene for Georgia as a red county; blood red soil, sunsets, the red-haired Tarletons, the disucssion of sca..."

Oh, no worries, you were fine! There are a lot of threads here so it's easy to miss. I just liked your comment a lot so I wanted to make sure it was part of the discussion in the other thread.

I liked the "who should play Scarlett and Rhett" conversation! I want to play :)
Angelina Jolie is gorgeous, but Scarlett is supposed to be 16 when the book begins! We need someone younger.
I like Jessica Stroup - she plays Silver on the new 90210. I promise I don't watch that show, by the way. Only the first few episodes.
Anyway - she's adorable. Her eyes aren't green, but we can fix that with contacts.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1888211/
I say this guy for Ashley - Simon Baker
http://images.google.com/images?ndsp=...
How about Eric Bana for Rhett?
I know he's played some really crappy roles...but you have to admit, the guy is handsome.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en...
And we need a Melly, too. Alexis Bledel would be perfect, I think.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0088127/

That was awesome. Now I just need some capital so I can produce my own version of the movie. And in MINE, Scarlett will have babies besides Bonnie.

I just found out that one of my mother's colleagues when I was growing up was Miss de Havilland's accent coach for this film. I had no idea!

Alexis Bledel would be PERFECT for Melanie. She's got that innocent thing down to an art.

Ha ha, I just watched an episode of 90210 this week and saw that Silver girl! She does seem cute and fiesty.

Susanna, that's amazing about your mom's colleague!