Margaret Mitchell

Eugene Muse Mitchell

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Little Jimmy-He Keeps Clean 1905

Peach Tree Street Atlanta 1907

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Army distinguished service cross medal

Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel Gone with the Wind, for which she won the National Book Award for Most Distinguished Novel of 1936 and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937. The story was adapted into a 1939 film of the same name, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Early Life

Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to a wealthy and politically prominent family. Her father, Eugene Muse Mitchell, was an attorney, and her mother, Mary Isabel "Maybelle" Stephens, was a suffragist. Mitchell's upbringing in the South during the Reconstruction era significantly influenced her writing and political views. She attended the Washington Seminary (now The Westminster Schools), and later studied at Smith College but left after her first year following the death of her mother from the Spanish flu pandemic.

Career

Mitchell began her career as a journalist for the Atlanta Journal Sunday Magazine in 1922 under the pen name Peggy Mitchell. During her time as a journalist, she developed a distinctive writing style and gained popularity for her feature stories.

In the mid-1920s, Mitchell left her journalism career to focus on writing her novel. Gone with the Wind was published in 1936 after a decade of writing and revision. The novel was an immediate success, selling one million copies within six months, and has since been translated into multiple languages and sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind is set in Georgia during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era. It tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a plantation owner, and her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes, who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton. The novel explores themes of love, war, and social change, and is known for its vivid descriptions of the South during the Civil War.

Personal Life

Mitchell married Berrien "Red" Upshaw in 1922, but the marriage was tumultuous and ended in divorce. In 1925, she married John Marsh, who had been best man at her first wedding. Marsh played a significant role in Mitchell's writing career, providing support and encouragement during the writing of Gone with the Wind.

Death and Legacy

Margaret Mitchell died on August 16, 1949, from injuries sustained after being struck by an off-duty police officer's speeding car while crossing Peachtree Street in Atlanta with her husband. She was 48 years old. Mitchell's legacy lives on through her novel, which remains a significant work in American literature. The Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta, where she wrote a large portion of Gone with the Wind, is now a museum dedicated to her life and work.

Bibliography

• Gone with the Wind (1936)

Awards and Honors

• National Book Award for Most Distinguished Novel of 1936
• Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1937)