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2011 is the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.  Sally Tippett Rains is available for speaking engagements and she can add an element of Civil War history or Movie history to your event. Rains can speak about any aspect of Gone With the Wind, either in regular clothes or dressed in a hoop skirt to enhance your gathering.

To book rains, contact:: info@GWTWbook.com

The Making of a Masterpiece, The True Story of Margaret Mitchell's Classic Novel Gone With The Wind contains the exclusive Civil War history behind Margaret Mitchell's story. Rains had access to a scrapbook from Mitchell's family which contains pictures from the 1800's as well as stories from Mitchell's Civil War ancestors. Some of these stories are very similar to stories in Gone With The Wind.

For more information: info@GWTWbook.com

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Bonus Material

One of the highlights of The Making Of A Masterpiece is the Bonus material at the back of the book. There is so much extra information with the book club questions, extra interviews and charts.

Family Tree Charts

Another feature The Making Of A Masterpiece has are the genealogy charts for Scarlett O'Hara and her family as well as the real-life people in Margaret Mitchell's family. These charts serve as a quick reference for use while reading the book. They also help reinforce the point that there are many similarities between the real-life people and the characters Margaret Mitchell created. Both Civil War families have a mother named Ellen and a teen-aged daughter named "Katie."  Katie Scarlett was the full given name for Scarlett O'Hara.

Book Club Section, Interviews, and Extras
Sample Book Discussion Questions

  1. Compare Margaret Mitchell's great-grandfather Philip Fitzgerald with the fictional Gerald O'Hara, father of Scarlett O'Hara.
  2. In what ways do Melanie and Ashley represent the Old South? Contrast this with Rhett and Scarlett.
  3. Discuss the male-female, husband-wife role of the Antebellum South using Ellen and Gerald as the example, and then Ashley and Melanie.
  4. Compare and contrast Margaret Mitchell's husbands Berrien Upshaw and John Marsh, and talk about the traits that each of them have for Rhett Butler and Ashley Wilkes.
  5. Throughout the process of producing the movie, Selznick tried to include author Margaret Mitchell as much as possible, but she clearly did not want to be involved. She did answer him about some things, but when it came to certain characters; her lack of wanting to discuss them drew a wedge between author and producer. If you were Margaret Mitchell and had written the successful Gone With The Wind, would you have been involved with the movie and what would be your reasoning?

Additional Material

*A Conversation With The Author
Interesting Q and A about behind the scenes work on the book.

How did you locate Mark Rabwin and Paul Rabwin, sons of Marcella Rabwin the Executive Assistant to Gone With The Wind Producer David O. Selznick?

I have some advantages that Margaret Mitchell did not have, specifically the computer and the Internet! I wondered if Marcella had any sons or daughters so I Googled the word "Rabwin." An entry came up for a high school reunion at Beverly Hills High School. It said, "For more information contact Mark Rabwin." I e-mailed him and sure enough it was her son. Mark was eager to talk about his mother, and he referred me to his brother Paul, a Hollywood Producer. They could not have been nicer, sharing many stories about their mother with me. Because their mother worked with Selznick and their father was doctor to the stars they grew up around a lot of famous people. There were stories of having Danny Kaye entertain at a childhood birthday party and growing up around so many interesting and famous people. I enjoyed our phone conversations so much I could have talked to them both all day. They were both so kind and took time out of their busy schedules to explain things I didn't know.