On this day in history, May 3, 1937, Margaret Mitchell's Civil War saga 'Gone with the Wind' wins Pulitzer

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Gifted but enigmatic Atlanta mag writer Margaret Mitchell earned nan Pulitzer Prize successful Novels for her breathtaking activity of humanities fiction, "Gone pinch nan Wind," connected this time successful history, May 3, 1937.

"Mitchell received news of nan prize by phone, on pinch aggregate requests for interviews," reports PBS American Masters. 

"Hating publicity, she fled to a gospel performance astatine a mini Black religion successful Atlanta pinch her hubby and adjacent associates. The press scoured nan metropolis but ne'er recovered her."

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She dodged attention, and early authorship, nan remainder of her little life. 

"Gone pinch nan Wind," Mitchell's 1,000-page Civil War saga, is 1 of nan world's most successful novels. Even today, it enjoys a world following.

Margaret Mitchell

Novelist Margaret Mitchell sits astatine her table astatine location successful Georgia pursuing nan announcement that her caller "Gone pinch nan Wind" had won a Pulitzer Prize. (Getty Images)

The play of emotion and full warfare successful nan American South inspired a mobility image epic of nan aforesaid sanction that remains 1 of nan astir celebrated films successful Hollywood history. 

"I want nan aged days backmost again and they’ll ne'er travel back." — Ashley Wilkes, "Gone pinch nan Wind"

"I want nan aged days backmost again and they’ll ne'er travel back, and I americium haunted by nan representation of them and of nan world falling astir my ears," Ashley Wilkes, nan debonair entity of headstrong heroine Scarlett O'Hara's affection, says successful 1 of nan book's signature passages. 

The connection apt reflected stories that Mitchell absorbed arsenic a kid successful a metropolis that was reduced to ashes successful 1864.

Clark Gable, Gone pinch nan Wind

The character Clark Gable, who played Rhett Butler successful nan 1939 movie "Gone pinch nan Wind," sounds a transcript of nan caller by Margaret Mitchell connected which nan movie was based. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

"Born successful Atlanta successful 1900, Margaret Mitchell grew up surrounded by relatives who told endless tales of nan Civil War and Reconstruction," states her curriculum vitae connected nan website of Georgia Women of Achievement.

"She knew those who were relics of a destroyed culture, and those who had put speech gentility for survival."

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Her grandfather, Russell Mitchell, fought for nan Confederacy successful nan Civil War. He was changeable doubly successful nan caput astatine Antietam, according to a curriculum vitae of nan writer by PBS American Masters. 

He miraculously survived nan wounds and produced a ample family.

Gone pinch nan Wind

A transcript of nan book "Gone With nan Wind" by Margaret Mitchell, signed by nan producer, head and astir of nan speaking formed of nan 1939 Hollywood film, is pictured connected Oct. 18, 2007 successful Los Angeles, California.  (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)

An earlier procreation of Mitchells fought for independency from nan British successful nan American Revolution.

Mitchell spent 4 years penning for nan Atlanta Journal Sunday Magazine successful her early 20s earlier becoming bedridden by a car mishap successful 1926.

"I vaguely callback that I conscionable sat down and began to constitute a book to inhabit my time," Mitchell has been quoted arsenic saying. 

"I vaguely callback that I conscionable sat down and began to constitute a book to inhabit my time." — Margaret Mitchell

"And aft I vanished it and was capable to locomotion again, I put nan book distant and forgot astir it for years."

The title, a metaphor for nan demolition of Antebellum South culture, comes from a statement successful "Cynarae" by 19th-century English writer Ernest Dowson. 

"Gone pinch nan Wind" successful Italian

An Italian translator of "Gone pinch nan Wind" Margaret Mitchell that was published successful nan Omnibus serie, by Arnoldo Mondadori, successful Verona, July 1946. ( Photo by Fototeca Gilardi/Getty Images)

Mitchell's luck changed successful nan outpouring of 1935 erstwhile editor Harold Latham from New York City publishing location Macmillan arrived successful Atlanta searching for caller authors.

"I conscionable couldn’t judge that a bluish patient would judge a caller astir nan War Between nan States from nan confederate constituent of view," she reportedly said. 

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The caller "Gone pinch nan Wind" was released successful 1936, an unthinkable 1,037 pages agelong — and sold for $3.  

It took America, and past nan world, by storm. 

It quickly sold much than 1 cardinal copies — topping 30 cardinal successful caller years — and was translated into 16 languages wrong conscionable 3 years, according to Publisher's Weekly.

"Mitchell became a personage … successful nan nationalist spotlight done nan accumulation and premiere of nan movie based connected her caller successful 1939." 

"'Gone With nan Wind' was a phenomenal occurrence and received rave reviews," writes PBS. 

"Overnight, Mitchell became a personage and remained very overmuch successful nan nationalist spotlight done nan accumulation and premiere of nan movie based connected her caller successful 1939."

Interest successful nan pending movie adaption of Mitchell's bestseller soon consumed American culture.

Poster of "Gone pinch nan Wind"

"Gone pinch nan Wind" poster, Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, 1939. The fiery illness of Atlanta served arsenic nan climactic backdrop of nan American epic.  (LMPC via Getty Images)

"Fourteen 100 women auditioned to play nan Georgia belle (O'Hara)," writes Smithsonian Magazine. 

"But erstwhile it went to Vivien Leigh, a British character pinch only a fewer surface credits to her name, readers gasped. Southerners successful peculiar were little than thrilled." 

The movie proved a bigger sensation than nan book. 

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"Gone pinch nan Wind" won 8 Oscars astatine nan 1940 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and remains nan top-grossing movie successful world history, earning $4.2 cardinal successful inflation-adjusted dollars, according to Guinness World Records.

Mitchell's communicative was now an world multimedia sensation. 

Yet "Gone pinch nan Wind" is nan only book she ever published. 

"'Gone pinch nan Wind' has captured nan imagination and admiration of group astir nan world for 9 decades."

The writer was trying to locomotion crossed Peachtree Street successful Atlanta connected Aug. 11, 1949, erstwhile she was struck by a taxi. 

She died astatine Grady Hospital 5 days later. 

Teams of volunteers answered phones astatine nan infirmary to grip queries from astir nan nation. 

Margaret Mitchell deed by car

Margaret Mitchell, writer of nan modern classical "Gone With nan Wind," lies wounded connected nan pavement of Peachtree Street successful Atlanta, a thoroughfare made celebrated successful her novel. She was knocked down by a motorist, identified arsenic Hugh D. Gravitt, taxi institution employee. Mrs. Mitchell and her husband, John Marsh, were strolling to a adjacent movie theatre erstwhile she was hit. (Getty Images)

Her information was monitored by crowds extracurricular nan infirmary and by President Harry Truman himself astatine the White House.

Margaret Mitchell, nan top one-hit wonderment successful nan history of American literature, was 48 years old.

"If I person to lie, steal, cheat aliases kill. As God is my witness, I'll ne'er beryllium quiet again." — Scarlett O'Hara

MItchell wrote a novella successful her teenage years, "Lost Laysen," that was published successful 1996. 

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Critics person lambasted "Gone pinch nan Wind" successful caller decades, arguing it glosses complete a civilization that accepted slavery.

But nan halfway of nan story, conflict complete emotion and O’Hara’s unthinkable determination to past arsenic nan world she knew virtually burned astir her, speaks profoundly to a communal humanity. 

Author Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949), American novelist, writer of nan celebrated caller "Gone pinch nan Wind."  (Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

"Gone pinch nan Wind" has captured nan imagination and admiration of group astir nan world for 9 decades. 

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"As God is my witness, and God is my witness, nan Yankees aren’t going to lick me," Mitchell's O’Hara says defiantly. 

"I’m going to unrecorded done this, and erstwhile it’s over, I’ll ne'er beryllium quiet again … If I person to lie, steal, cheat aliases kill. As God is my witness, I'll ne'er beryllium quiet again."

For much Lifestyle articles, sojourn www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.

Kerry J. Byrne is simply a manner newsman pinch Fox News Digital.

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