“One of the things that made ‘Gone With the Wind’ work,” he explains, “is that Margaret Mitchell was not only trying to be true to the historical reality of 1860 to 1872 but also trying to speak in the voice of the 1920s.” Any sequel writer, says Pyron, would have to strike a new balance between Scarlett’s day and her own. Ripley’s smuggles guns to Galway, then shops till she drops.ĭarden Asbury Pyron, author of the forthcoming “Southern Daughter: The Life of Margaret Mitchell,” says Ripley’s Scarlett for the ‘90s may be right on target. She wants others to be happy, as well-”their own way.” Margaret Mitchell’s heroine hobbled home to Tara swearing she’d never be hungry again. This Scarlett wants to be happy, not to run lumber mills or stores. “Now they could truly be friends,” she reflects. When her old crush Ashley Wilkes finally proposes, on, this Scarlett says no. Her obsession is not survival but love for Rhett.

Ripley’s heroine is a single mom whose hurts feel better when she sees her baby. Orchestrated hype is only one difference between the sequel and the original. That led to rumors that “Scarlett” was a bust, especially as “Gone With the Wind” made its name being passed hand to hand long before it reached book stores. No prepublication copies surfaced, even in New York’s book world.

Reporters received copies last weekend, under oath that their articles wouldn’t appear before today. Warner publicists have engineered a splashy publication, including items on this evening’s networks news shows and “Entertainment Tonight,” and, Thursday, with Regis and Kathie Lee. Otherwise, the book has been mostly a mystery. The publishing community has known of Scarlett’s search for roots for quite some time. “I started reading up on Ireland,” says Ripley, “and I thought, ‘Thank you, God.’ What we have at this time in Ireland is like 20 years before in the (United States). “I started finding out what was going on in American history, and it was”-she squinches her mouth up and sings a word- “nuh -thing.” I’m the only one doing the ‘Gone With the Wind’ kind of thing.” Among her books are “Charleston,” “On Leaving Charleston” and “New Orleans Legacy.”īut Ripley moved her tale out of the South and the United States. “And I am the only real Southerner writing Southern historical novels. “I’ve always kept my eye on the competition,” says Ripley, 57, leaning back on the sofa in the elegant Manhattan hotel room where she is ensconced for the first hectic rounds of publicity interviews. The author of popular epics about Charleston and New Orleans, Ripley doesn’t believe the estate ever considered anyone else. More than five years ago, the trustees of the Mitchell estate hired Ripley to continue the saga and to protect copyrights to the characters that otherwise would expire in 2011.

Gone with the wind books in order