Today In History with The Retrospectors

Writing 'Gone With The Wind'


Listen Later

Margaret Mitchell’s first and only novel, Gone With The Wind, was released on 30th June, 1936, and delighted readers and critics alike, shifting millions of copies and scooping the Pulitzer Prize.


But its romanticised tales of life in the South - complete with glorified depictions of slave labour and the Confederate Army - was divisive for African-Americans at the time, and is now recognised as overtly racist.


Mitchell, a ‘flapper’ who had a racy private life compared to her cohort, died after being struck by a car. But her magnum opus remains consistently ranked as one of America’s favourite books.


In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Martin Luther King, Jr. was involved in the premiere of the movie; consider an alternative name for the novel's lead character; and reveal the mind-boggling amounts of money paid for copies of the book, and the film rights…


Further Reading:


• ‘Margaret Mitchell's 'Gone With The Wind' Turns 75’ (NPR, 2011): https://www.npr.org/2011/06/30/137476187/margaret-mitchells-gone-with-the-wind-turns-75


• ‘The Long Battle Over ‘Gone With the Wind’’ (The New York Times, 2020):


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/movies/gone-with-the-wind-battle.html


• ‘Gone with the Wind - By Margaret Mitchell. FULL Audiobook’ (Complete Audiobooks, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6mpo9-P5BQ


Love the show? Support us! 

Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

… Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content. 

Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.



Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Today In History with The RetrospectorsBy The Retrospectors

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

97 ratings


More shows like Today In History with The Retrospectors

View all
Answer Me This! by Helen and Olly

Answer Me This!

825 Listeners

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 by BBC Radio 4

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4

2,141 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,921 Listeners

Comedy of the Week by BBC Radio 4

Comedy of the Week

495 Listeners

RHLSTP with Richard Herring by Sky Potato, Go Faster Stripe and Fuzz Productions

RHLSTP with Richard Herring

373 Listeners

No Such Thing As A Fish by No Such Thing As A Fish

No Such Thing As A Fish

4,850 Listeners

The Modern Mann by Olly Mann

The Modern Mann

145 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

823 Listeners

The Week Unwrapped - with Olly Mann by The Week Unwrapped

The Week Unwrapped - with Olly Mann

77 Listeners

Evil Genius with Russell Kane by BBC Sounds

Evil Genius with Russell Kane

376 Listeners

Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster by Plosive

Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster

2,781 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,964 Listeners

What The F*** Is Going On? with Mark Steel by WTF Productions

What The F*** Is Going On? with Mark Steel

103 Listeners

Firecrotch & Normcore: THEY LIKE TO WATCH by Sara Barron/Geoff Lloyd

Firecrotch & Normcore: THEY LIKE TO WATCH

115 Listeners

We Can Be Weirdos by Global

We Can Be Weirdos

202 Listeners