Lot 71: “Gone With the Wind” author Margaret Mitchell letter about a sequel: “the lives of my characters ended on the last page”

Whatever Happened to Rhett & Scarlett? ********** MITCHELL, MARGARET. (1900-1949). American author of the enormously popular novel Gone with the Wind. TLS. (“Margaret Mitchell Marsh”). 1p. 4to. Atlanta, January 12, 1948. On her personal stationery. To Miss Gilbert. ********** “Thank you so much for your very kind letter. I’m glad you liked Gone With the Wind enough to write me about it. I am glad you were interested enough to want me to write a sequel to it, but I do not contemplate writing a sequel. To me, the lives of my characters ended on the last page, and your guess is as good as mine as to what happened thereafter.” ********** After writing for the Atlanta Journal, Mitchell began work on Gone With the Wind, which occupied her for ten years. Her epic story of the American Civil War and Reconstruction sold one million copies in the first six months after its publication in 1936, at the time, the biggest selling novel in the history of U.S. publishing. Our letter refers to the novel’s principle characters, Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara, and the book’s enigmatic ending, which has Rhett leaving Scarlett who is determined to win him back. Although Mitchell never penned a sequel to her beloved novel, Alexandra Ripley took the liberty with her 1991 novel Scarlett. ********** Light marginal stains. Fine condition.