Love Lost and Found: Parallels between Margaret Mitchell and Scarlett O'Haraīeyond the war and Atlanta serving as inspiration for the plot and setting of the novel, Mitchell's own romantic life served as an inspiration for Scarlett's life. Though her family did not suffer the crippling effects of the war the way Scarlett O'Hara's did, she heard the stories of those who did. Mitchell's own aunts were young women when the Civil War began, and she often sat with them during her childhood and listened to stories about the war and about her own family's efforts to survive in the years after. As a child, Mitchell often went for buggy rides with her family along the same roads Sherman took in his march to the sea, and she saw first hand the sagging and burned out buildings that inspired the world her heroine loved and lost. The Atlanta in which Mitchell was raised was not the same as the Reconstruction era city she wrote about in her novel, but the remnants of that world were still very present and served as an inspiration to Mitchell when crafting her epic. So, what inspired Mitchell to pen a tale with such staying power? Likewise, the book is still widely read and has never been out of print. Starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, the film won the Academy Award for Best Film in 1939, as well as twelve other awards, and is still considered a triumph today. It's film adaptation, too, has endured as a classic and was a major influence on films for years after its release. The story of Scarlett O'Hara's life in the aftermath of the Civil War, the changing nature of Atlanta, and her tumultuous relationship with Rhett Butler has intrigued generations of readers and movie fans. Gone With the Wind won the National Book Award as well as the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1937. Though Margaret Mitchell had only one book published in her lifetime, it remains one of the most popular books of all time.

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