Atlanta 9.10.15

Today we go to see Margaret Mitchell's house, where she wrote 'Gone with the Wind'. I have looked forward to this all though the holiday. I imagine she lives in a fairly large house in the country. Not quite as grand as Tara perhaps but a nice pile nevertheless.
First we tour Atlanta on the coach. Shaw House is a large grand house in the country; but it is not Margaret's. It is a 1928 copy of a Georgian Manor built by a Cotton Merchant. Inside 'servants' show us the house as it would have been. A butler greets us at the door and a maid dusts the drawing room.  The 'lady of the house' plays the piano in the morning room and 'permanent house guest/architect' shows us his basement flat with his fabulous collection of pottery. The site has a small working farm, a gift shop, restaurant and a museum with a Cocoa Cola bar (a cafe with Coke not tea and coffee). Cocoa Cola's global organisation is based in Atlanta.
Finally, we see Margaret Mitchell's house. The house is not as grand as I thought it would be, but it was large; I really should have googled it. As we entered - her accommodation was labelled Appartment 1. It was only then that I realised it was not her house. Margaret Mitchell Marsh and her husband rented the ground floor flat. The whole house with a considerable extention on the back and a separate movie building in the side garden was now a museum devoted to Margaret Mitchell and her book. Although I was disappointed I still enjoyed the house and my time in it.
Margaret Mitchell wrote lots of short stories and plays in her youth some of which were published. 1926, when she was in her mid-twenties, living with her husband in the small apartment, she broke her ankle and had to rest at home for months. She was bored and decided to do a project and wrote a few chapters of a massive book. Over the next 3 years she wrote most of the book and spent until 1935 re-reading and editing it. The project was never intended to be published or even read by anyone else in its entirety. She did tell friends that she was writing a book. One of these friends, Louise, told a publisher friend of hers at Macmillan, who came to see Margaret. Margaret denied there was a book and sent him away, fortunately she changed her mind and took the manuscript to his hotel just as he was leaving Atlanta. The manuscript is so big he has to purchase a new case to carry it. He read a few chapters on the train and decided to send it back to his publishing house to a reader. He was not due back for a while and it would be read while he was on the road. The reader confirmed it was good enough to publish and after many edits it was out by June 1936. 1 million copies were purchased within 3 months of publication and by 1965 it followed the bible, being the second most purchased book in the world. Margaret received 500 dollars advance and the family still receive 10% of sales. The film followed the book closely but some characters and stories were left out as it was too long. Margaret was happy with the film.