Claim: Gone with the Wind is a long-length fiction work.

Gone with the Wind is a novel by American writer Margaret Mitchell , first published in 1936 . The story is set in Clayton County and Atlanta , both in Georgia , during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era . It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O'Hara , the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner , who must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of poverty following Sherman 's destructive `` March to the Sea '' . This historical novel features a Bildungsroman or coming-of-age story , with the title taken from a poem written by Ernest Dowson .   Gone with the Wind was popular with American readers from the outset and was the top American fiction bestseller in the year it was published and in 1937 . As of 2014 , a Harris poll found it to be the second favorite book of American readers , just behind the Bible . More than 30 million copies have been printed worldwide .   Written from the perspective of the slaveholder , Gone with the Wind is Southern plantation fiction . Its portrayal of slavery and African Americans has been considered controversial , especially by succeeding generations , as well as its use of a racial epithet and ethnic slurs common to the period . However , the novel has become a reference point for subsequent writers about the South , both black and white . Scholars at American universities refer to it in their writings , interpret and study it . The novel has been absorbed into American popular culture .   Mitchell received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for the book in 1937 . It was adapted into a 1939 American film . Gone with the Wind is the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime .   Mitchell used color symbolism , especially the colors red and green , which frequently are associated with Scarlett O'Hara . Mitchell identified the primary theme as survival . She left the ending speculative for the reader , however . She was often asked what became of her lovers , Rhett and Scarlett . She replied , `` For all I know , Rhett may have found someone else who was less difficult . '' Two sequels authorized by Mitchell 's estate were published more than a half century later . A parody was also produced .