One of the most successful books ever published and the basis of one of the most popular and highly praised Hollywood films of all time, Gone With the Wind has entered world culture in a way that few other stories have.

Seventy-five years on from the cinematic release of Gone with the Wind, Helen Taylor looks at the reasons why the book and film have had such an appeal, especially for women.

Drawing on letters and questionnaires from female fans, she brings together material from southern history, literature, film and feminist theory and discusses the themes of the Civil War and issues of race. She has previously written Gender, Race and Region in the writings of Grace King, Ruth McEnery Stuart and Kate Chopin and The Daphne Du Maurier Companion.