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Scarlett (novel)
Encyclopedia
Scarlett is a novel written in 1991 by Alexandra Ripley
as a sequel to Margaret Mitchell
's Gone with the Wind
. The book debuted on the New York Times bestsellers list, but both critics and fans of the original novel found Ripley's version to be inconsistent with the literary quality of Gone with the Wind.
Reviewing the novel for the New York Times in 1991, Janet Maslin said the book was a "stunningly uneventful 823-page holding action." Donald McCaig
, author of Rhett Butler's People
, said it was his impression that the Margaret Mitchell estate was "thoroughly embarrassed" by Scarlett. Scarlett, universally panned by critics, nevertheless was a commercial success. The book sold millions of copies and remains in print.
It was adapted as a television mini-series of the same title
in 1994 starring Timothy Dalton
as Rhett Butler
and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as Scarlett O'Hara
.
left off, with Scarlett attending the funeral of her former sister-in-law and rival for Ashley Wilkes
' affection, Melanie Wilkes
, at which her estranged husband, Rhett Butler
, is not present. Scarlett, heartbroken and aggravated that Rhett has left her completely, sets out for Tara and is saddened when she learns that Mammy, her mainstay since birth, is dying. When she arrives at Tara, she sends a telegram to notify Rhett about Mammy under the name of Will Benteen (her sister Suellen's husband), because she knows that Rhett won't come if he suspects Scarlett is there. Before Mammy dies she makes Rhett swear to look after "her lamb" Miss Scarlett. Rhett agrees, although he has no intention of honoring the request. After Mammy's death, Rhett and Scarlett fight, which culminates in Rhett leaving and Scarlett returning to the Atlanta house, determined to win Rhett back.
Scarlett, in her haste to win Rhett back, travels to Charleston to visit Rhett's family and tries to corner him by winning his mother's affection. He instead secludes himself in the family's old plantation on the river. Scarlett convinces Rhett to take her for a sail on the harbour, where their boat capsizes during a terrible storm. When they become shipwrecked, Rhett tries to keep Scarlett awake until they reach land. Scarlett and Rhett swim until they reach an island, and take refuge in a hollow of sand dunes. Rhett says, "Oh my darling, I thought I'd lost you! My love, my life...". Scarlett thinks he means it, and the two make love in the cave. Rhett later tells her that "when a man survived something he thought he wouldn't, he does and says crazy things," and that he didn't mean it. Scarlett, knowing that he meant it tells him to look her in the eyes, and tell her honestly that he does not love her. He then confesses, but runs out because he does not want to "lose himself" over her again. He compares her to an addiction to opium. Once safely back in Charleston, Rhett leaves Scarlett near death at his mother's house, telling her, in a letter, that while he admires her bravery in the face of danger, it has changed nothing; he will never see her again.
After Scarlett has regained her strength, she leaves Charleston with her two aunts, Pauline and Eulalie, to attend her maternal grandfather's birthday celebration in Savannah. She leaves a hastily written note to Rhett's mother, whom she has grown to love and admire, with Rhett's sister, Rosemary. Rosemary burns the note. (Rosemary overheard a nasty exchange between Rhett and Scarlett and was upset with this "dark side" of her brother. Rhett told Rosemary the whole story of loving Scarlett till there was not one drop of love left and how he would fall in love with her again if he didn't keep away from her.)
Scarlett connects with the Savannah O'Haras against her maternal family's wishes. Scarlett's grandfather offers Scarlett his entire inheritance if she will remain with him in Savannah until his death and avoid all contact with her father's side of the family. Scarlett refuses the old man and storms out of the house, furious at his demands. She goes to stay with her cousin Jamie and his family. Soon after another cousin named Colum, a priest from Ireland, joins them. Later Scarlett agrees to travel to Ireland with him. By this time Scarlett has realized that she is pregnant with Rhett's child but she keeps her pregnancy hidden.
In Ireland, Scarlett is heartily welcomed by her Irish kin, including her grandmother, Old Katie Scarlett, Gerald's mother. Exploring one day with her cousin Colum, they pass by an old house which the latter explained was called 'Ballyhara' along with the land surrounding it; it was O'Hara land long ago before the English seized it, along with other land from the Irish. Scarlett is mildly interested until she receives a notification of divorce from Rhett. Scarlett makes plans to leave for America at once but is stunned by more news; Rhett is married to another woman, a Charlestonian named Anne Hampton, who is said to resemble Melanie Hamilton. Heartbroken and full of remorse over her past deeds, Scarlett decides to remain in Ireland. She works with lawyers and leaves her two-third share of her father's plantation, Tara, to her son Wade Hamilton (fathered by her first husband, Charles Hamilton, brother of Melanie Wilkes), buys Ballyhara and settles down in Ireland, to her Irish family's delight. She and her cousin, Colum, tell everyone that her husband had taken ill and then died, leaving her a widow, rather than tell the truth that she was divorced.
As Ballyhara is slowly restored, Scarlett eagerly awaits the birth of her child, praying for it to be a girl and vowing to be a good mother. She is well respected by the townspeople and her family, earning her a reputation as a hard worker, with fierce Irish pride. She becomes known as The O'Hara, a title reserved for the undisputed leader of a family clan.
One stormy Halloween night, her water breaks. Her housekeeper, Mrs. Fitzpatrick, and the midwife whom Colum summons are unable to handle the situation, and it appears that Scarlett will die. Instead, she is saved by the wise old woman who lives near the haunted tower and who appears suddenly. The Caesarian birth is successful, but internal damage is done to Scarlett; as a result, Scarlett can no longer have children. The baby, a girl, is born with dark skin like Rhett's, but with blue eyes that slowly turn as green as Scarlett's. Full of love and thanksgiving, Scarlett names her Katie Colum O'Hara, and calls her "Cat" because of her green eyes. Rumors in the town abound about the birth of the child since one of the townspeople summoned to help with the birth claimed that the wise woman (witch) birthed a healthy boy from Scarlett but replaced the boy-child with a girl-child changeling. These rumors and fears are accented by the fact that Cat is born on Halloween, the time when bad spirits roam and play tricks on the living.
After Scarlett has settled down in Ballyhara, she runs into Rhett a number of times—in America when she sees him while she is on the boat to Boston, at a fair where she admits she still loves him and at a hunt a week later. All the while, he still does not know he has a child. He then seeks her out at a society ball and, in this gesture, Scarlett realizes he still loves her, and that she in turn loves him in a way only she and he will ever know.
Lord Fenton, one of the wealthiest men in Europe, pursues Scarlett relentlessly, wanting to marry her but not with good intentions. He wants Scarlett to bear his children after seeing Cat's fiery spirit and fearlessness. He also plans to unite their estates; he owns Adamstown, the land adjacent to Scarlett's. The combined estate will go to their son upon their deaths but Cat will bear his name and have the best of everything. Angered by his arrogance, Scarlett refuses and orders him out of her house. He laughs at her and asks her to call him when she reconsiders. Scarlett leaves for Dublin for her yearly visit for parties and hunts. She later decides to accept Lord Fenton when she hears that Anne is pregnant with Rhett’s second child (the first child was lost to a miscarriage). The news leaks out about her engagement and Rhett, in a drunken state, insults her when she runs into him at a horse race. A mutual friend tells her that Anne died of a fever and the baby died four days after its birth and she rushes back to Ballyhara hopeful that Rhett would come looking for her. She finds English there with a warrant to arrest Colum, who is the head of the Fenian Brotherhood, a group of Irish terrorists planning to revolt against the English. Colum is murdered and Rosaleen Fitzpatrick sets fire to the entire English arsenal to avenge Colum. The villagers, thinking Scarlett is in league with the English, burn her house down. Rhett comes to her rescue and he tries to convince her to escape with him. Scarlett doesn't go, but runs around her house yelling, "Cat! Cat! Where are you?" Rhett, confusedly says, "There's no time for the cat! We have to go!" Scarlett looks at him, dumbfounded. "Oh you fool! Not a cat," she barks. "Katie Colum O'Hara, called Cat. She's your daughter." Stunned, Rhett demands that Scarlett tell him how that's possible. Scarlett, still anxious about finding Cat, gives him a hurried explanation of when Cat was conceived. Rhett frantically goes in search of his newfound daughter with Scarlett at his heels. They find Cat in the kitchen after Scarlett remembers that Cat loves the kitchen. The three climb into the high tower on Ballyhara where Cat has made a playhouse and they stay there for the night. Scarlett explains why she didn’t tell him about Cat and he understands. Rhett and Scarlett both say "I love you". They wake up the next morning ready to start their new lives together and leave Ireland. The book ends with "Grainne told me to keep it," said by Cat, speaking of the old rope ladder which they will use to climb down from the tower.
as Rhett Butler
and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as Scarlett O'Hara
. The plot of the mini-series varied considerably from the book.
Alexandra Ripley
Alexandra Ripley, née Braid was an American writer best known as the author of Scarlett , the sequel to Gone with the Wind. Her first novel was Who's the Lady in the President's Bed?...
as a sequel to Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
's Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
. The book debuted on the New York Times bestsellers list, but both critics and fans of the original novel found Ripley's version to be inconsistent with the literary quality of Gone with the Wind.
Reviewing the novel for the New York Times in 1991, Janet Maslin said the book was a "stunningly uneventful 823-page holding action." Donald McCaig
Donald McCaig
Donald McCaig is an American novelist, poet and essayist. He lives on a sheep farm in Western Virginia.His 1998 novel set in Civil War Virginia won the Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction...
, author of Rhett Butler's People
Rhett Butler's People
Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig is an authorized sequel to Gone with the Wind. It was published in November 2007.Fully authorized by the Margaret Mitchell estate, Rhett Butler’s People is a novel that parallels Gone with the Wind from Rhett Butler's perspective. The book was unveiled on...
, said it was his impression that the Margaret Mitchell estate was "thoroughly embarrassed" by Scarlett. Scarlett, universally panned by critics, nevertheless was a commercial success. The book sold millions of copies and remains in print.
It was adapted as a television mini-series of the same title
Scarlett (TV miniseries)
Scarlett is a 1994 six hour miniseries loosely based on the sequel to Margaret Mitchell's novel, Gone with the Wind, written by Alexandra Ripley...
in 1994 starring Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
as Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.-Role:In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes...
and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O' Hara is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name...
.
Plot summary
The book begins where Gone with the WindGone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
left off, with Scarlett attending the funeral of her former sister-in-law and rival for Ashley Wilkes
Ashley Wilkes
George Ashley Wilkes is a fictional character in the Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and the later film of the same name. The character also appears in the 1991 book Scarlett, a sequel to Gone with the Wind written by Alexandra Ripley, and in Rhett Butler's People by Donald...
' affection, Melanie Wilkes
Melanie Wilkes
Melanie Hamilton Wilkes is a fictional character first appearing in the novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. In the 1939 film she was portrayed by Olivia de Havilland...
, at which her estranged husband, Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.-Role:In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes...
, is not present. Scarlett, heartbroken and aggravated that Rhett has left her completely, sets out for Tara and is saddened when she learns that Mammy, her mainstay since birth, is dying. When she arrives at Tara, she sends a telegram to notify Rhett about Mammy under the name of Will Benteen (her sister Suellen's husband), because she knows that Rhett won't come if he suspects Scarlett is there. Before Mammy dies she makes Rhett swear to look after "her lamb" Miss Scarlett. Rhett agrees, although he has no intention of honoring the request. After Mammy's death, Rhett and Scarlett fight, which culminates in Rhett leaving and Scarlett returning to the Atlanta house, determined to win Rhett back.
Scarlett, in her haste to win Rhett back, travels to Charleston to visit Rhett's family and tries to corner him by winning his mother's affection. He instead secludes himself in the family's old plantation on the river. Scarlett convinces Rhett to take her for a sail on the harbour, where their boat capsizes during a terrible storm. When they become shipwrecked, Rhett tries to keep Scarlett awake until they reach land. Scarlett and Rhett swim until they reach an island, and take refuge in a hollow of sand dunes. Rhett says, "Oh my darling, I thought I'd lost you! My love, my life...". Scarlett thinks he means it, and the two make love in the cave. Rhett later tells her that "when a man survived something he thought he wouldn't, he does and says crazy things," and that he didn't mean it. Scarlett, knowing that he meant it tells him to look her in the eyes, and tell her honestly that he does not love her. He then confesses, but runs out because he does not want to "lose himself" over her again. He compares her to an addiction to opium. Once safely back in Charleston, Rhett leaves Scarlett near death at his mother's house, telling her, in a letter, that while he admires her bravery in the face of danger, it has changed nothing; he will never see her again.
After Scarlett has regained her strength, she leaves Charleston with her two aunts, Pauline and Eulalie, to attend her maternal grandfather's birthday celebration in Savannah. She leaves a hastily written note to Rhett's mother, whom she has grown to love and admire, with Rhett's sister, Rosemary. Rosemary burns the note. (Rosemary overheard a nasty exchange between Rhett and Scarlett and was upset with this "dark side" of her brother. Rhett told Rosemary the whole story of loving Scarlett till there was not one drop of love left and how he would fall in love with her again if he didn't keep away from her.)
Scarlett connects with the Savannah O'Haras against her maternal family's wishes. Scarlett's grandfather offers Scarlett his entire inheritance if she will remain with him in Savannah until his death and avoid all contact with her father's side of the family. Scarlett refuses the old man and storms out of the house, furious at his demands. She goes to stay with her cousin Jamie and his family. Soon after another cousin named Colum, a priest from Ireland, joins them. Later Scarlett agrees to travel to Ireland with him. By this time Scarlett has realized that she is pregnant with Rhett's child but she keeps her pregnancy hidden.
In Ireland, Scarlett is heartily welcomed by her Irish kin, including her grandmother, Old Katie Scarlett, Gerald's mother. Exploring one day with her cousin Colum, they pass by an old house which the latter explained was called 'Ballyhara' along with the land surrounding it; it was O'Hara land long ago before the English seized it, along with other land from the Irish. Scarlett is mildly interested until she receives a notification of divorce from Rhett. Scarlett makes plans to leave for America at once but is stunned by more news; Rhett is married to another woman, a Charlestonian named Anne Hampton, who is said to resemble Melanie Hamilton. Heartbroken and full of remorse over her past deeds, Scarlett decides to remain in Ireland. She works with lawyers and leaves her two-third share of her father's plantation, Tara, to her son Wade Hamilton (fathered by her first husband, Charles Hamilton, brother of Melanie Wilkes), buys Ballyhara and settles down in Ireland, to her Irish family's delight. She and her cousin, Colum, tell everyone that her husband had taken ill and then died, leaving her a widow, rather than tell the truth that she was divorced.
As Ballyhara is slowly restored, Scarlett eagerly awaits the birth of her child, praying for it to be a girl and vowing to be a good mother. She is well respected by the townspeople and her family, earning her a reputation as a hard worker, with fierce Irish pride. She becomes known as The O'Hara, a title reserved for the undisputed leader of a family clan.
One stormy Halloween night, her water breaks. Her housekeeper, Mrs. Fitzpatrick, and the midwife whom Colum summons are unable to handle the situation, and it appears that Scarlett will die. Instead, she is saved by the wise old woman who lives near the haunted tower and who appears suddenly. The Caesarian birth is successful, but internal damage is done to Scarlett; as a result, Scarlett can no longer have children. The baby, a girl, is born with dark skin like Rhett's, but with blue eyes that slowly turn as green as Scarlett's. Full of love and thanksgiving, Scarlett names her Katie Colum O'Hara, and calls her "Cat" because of her green eyes. Rumors in the town abound about the birth of the child since one of the townspeople summoned to help with the birth claimed that the wise woman (witch) birthed a healthy boy from Scarlett but replaced the boy-child with a girl-child changeling. These rumors and fears are accented by the fact that Cat is born on Halloween, the time when bad spirits roam and play tricks on the living.
After Scarlett has settled down in Ballyhara, she runs into Rhett a number of times—in America when she sees him while she is on the boat to Boston, at a fair where she admits she still loves him and at a hunt a week later. All the while, he still does not know he has a child. He then seeks her out at a society ball and, in this gesture, Scarlett realizes he still loves her, and that she in turn loves him in a way only she and he will ever know.
Lord Fenton, one of the wealthiest men in Europe, pursues Scarlett relentlessly, wanting to marry her but not with good intentions. He wants Scarlett to bear his children after seeing Cat's fiery spirit and fearlessness. He also plans to unite their estates; he owns Adamstown, the land adjacent to Scarlett's. The combined estate will go to their son upon their deaths but Cat will bear his name and have the best of everything. Angered by his arrogance, Scarlett refuses and orders him out of her house. He laughs at her and asks her to call him when she reconsiders. Scarlett leaves for Dublin for her yearly visit for parties and hunts. She later decides to accept Lord Fenton when she hears that Anne is pregnant with Rhett’s second child (the first child was lost to a miscarriage). The news leaks out about her engagement and Rhett, in a drunken state, insults her when she runs into him at a horse race. A mutual friend tells her that Anne died of a fever and the baby died four days after its birth and she rushes back to Ballyhara hopeful that Rhett would come looking for her. She finds English there with a warrant to arrest Colum, who is the head of the Fenian Brotherhood, a group of Irish terrorists planning to revolt against the English. Colum is murdered and Rosaleen Fitzpatrick sets fire to the entire English arsenal to avenge Colum. The villagers, thinking Scarlett is in league with the English, burn her house down. Rhett comes to her rescue and he tries to convince her to escape with him. Scarlett doesn't go, but runs around her house yelling, "Cat! Cat! Where are you?" Rhett, confusedly says, "There's no time for the cat! We have to go!" Scarlett looks at him, dumbfounded. "Oh you fool! Not a cat," she barks. "Katie Colum O'Hara, called Cat. She's your daughter." Stunned, Rhett demands that Scarlett tell him how that's possible. Scarlett, still anxious about finding Cat, gives him a hurried explanation of when Cat was conceived. Rhett frantically goes in search of his newfound daughter with Scarlett at his heels. They find Cat in the kitchen after Scarlett remembers that Cat loves the kitchen. The three climb into the high tower on Ballyhara where Cat has made a playhouse and they stay there for the night. Scarlett explains why she didn’t tell him about Cat and he understands. Rhett and Scarlett both say "I love you". They wake up the next morning ready to start their new lives together and leave Ireland. The book ends with "Grainne told me to keep it," said by Cat, speaking of the old rope ladder which they will use to climb down from the tower.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
It was adapted as a television mini-series of the same title in 1994 starring Timothy DaltonTimothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
as Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.-Role:In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes...
and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O' Hara is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name...
. The plot of the mini-series varied considerably from the book.