In recognition of Banned Books Week 2007, Lamson Library is featuring a series of books that challenge our beliefs and test our commitment to free speech.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Reviews of this book sing its praises. The Washington Post called it the best novel to come out of the south; The New York Times writes it is “one of the most remarkable first novels produced by an American writer. It is also one of the best.” The 1939 movie starring Vivian Leigh and Clarke Gable virtually ensured its immortality.

But, there is another side to the story…

The Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall. Publishers Weekly noted: “Barely a month before the scheduled publication (2002) of this retelling of the classic from a slave’s perspective, a federal district court in Atlanta ruled that Randall had engaged in ‘unabated piracy’ in the crafting of her story.” The book failed to excite reviewers, but the legal controversy has become an object lesson in the role of commercial interests and copyright in how we celebrate our cultural heritage.

bbw2007, Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell, The Wind Done Gone, Alice Randall, copyright, parody, antebellum south