Author’s ‘Secret’ Tribute to Gone With the Wind

Oct. 16, 2009 - PRLog -- How does one convince Ann Rutherford, star of Gone With the Wind, that you’re not writing a book about prostitutes geared to thirteen-year-old girls?

That is the dilemma facing author Kathryn Witt. The plot of her new children’s novel, The Secret of the Belles, involves Gone With the Wind, Ona Munson, who portrayed Belle Watling in the 1939 film classic, and a collection of memorabilia relating to Margaret Mitchell, her immortal book and the beloved movie that is housed at the Marietta Gone With the Wind Museum-Scarlett on the Square, just north of Atlanta, Ga.

“You’re writing what?!”
“When Ann Rutherford heard about the book earlier this year, that is what she thought it was about,” says the author. “But it’s not. It’s about two young girls in Marietta, Ga.—one living at the time of the movie’s 1939 premiere in Atlanta and the other living in present day Marietta—who happen to love the book and movie and admire the actress, Ona Munson, and the strength of her character, Belle Watling. In fact, my character Lanie makes an interesting comparison between Belle and Vivien Leigh.”

Witt’s book, aimed at a middle grade reading audience, actually began as a time travel concept based on a painting at the Cincinnati Art Museum. That was three years ago and she was on deadline to produce several chapters to share with her online children’s writing critique group. Feeling frustrated, she put the time travel project aside and refocused.

“In my freelance work, I’d been writing about the Marietta Gone With the Wind Museum-Scarlett on the Square,” she says. “I had all this research about the collection and a lot of anecdotal information from the collection owner, Chris Sullivan.”

GWTW “Re-Premiere”
Intrigued by a story Sullivan had shared about costume pieces, Witt immediately began work on what was to become The Secret of the Belles, writing the book’s prologue and first two chapters by her deadline.

“It’s a page turner,” says Sullivan, who read an early draft of the manuscript. “She wrote a book that is at once a romance, a mystery, a recounting of history, and an adventure – all wrapped up with a big glorious bow of old Hollywood glamour!”

Cammie King Conlon (“Bonnie Blue Butler”) read a portion of the book and pronounced it “a beautiful read, and another amazing tribute to the phenomenon that is Gone With the Wind.”

Available mid-October, the book arrives in time for the 70th anniversary of the filming of Gone With the Wind, an event that will be celebrated in grand style November 13 and 14 during “70 Years of Gone With the Wind: A Re-Premiere.”

The two-day gala – hosted by the Marietta Gone With the Wind Museum-Scarlett on the Square and with supporting partners Turner Classic Movies, Warner Home Video and the recently renovated Earl Smith Strand Theatre – will include autograph sessions with the stars, author book signings, a lavish costume ball and a Big Screen showing of the 1939 classic, with pre-show activities hosted by Robert Osborne, film historian and host of Turner Classic Movies.

Witt will be one of several authors signing books and participating in Q&A sessions during the “Re-Premiere.” Also appearing will be Herb Bridges, preeminent GWTW authority whose books include Gone With the Wind: The Definitive Illustrated History of the Book, the Movie and the Legend; Molly Haskell, Frankly, My Dear: Gone With the Wind Revisited; Sally Tippett Rains, The Making of a Classic: The True Story Behind Margaret Mitchell and Gone With the Wind; and Robert Osborne, 80 Years of the Oscar. Cammie King Conlon will also join the authors, signing her recently released book, Bonnie Blue Butler: A Gone With the Wind Memoir.

Headlining the “Re-Premiere” will be GWTW cast members Ann Rutherford, Mary Anderson (“Maybelle Merriweather”), Mickey Kuhn (“Young Beau Wilkes”), Cammie King Conlon, Greg Giese (“Bonnie Blue” and “Beau” at infancy) and Patrick Curtis (“Baby Beau”), all of whom will sign autographs and participate in Q&A sessions.

Rounding out “Re-Premiere” festivities will be a “Belles and Beaus” costume ball; VIP and cocktail receptions; dinner and dancing; a showing of Gone With the Wind—still one of the most beloved movies of all time; a Parade of Stars; and tours of the extraordinary collection housed at the Marietta Gone With the Wind Museum-Scarlett on the Square conducted by Sullivan.

“Re-Premiere Chance to Revisit Book’s Topic
Witt met Rutherford several years ago during a GWTW event in Florida and has chatted with the actress by phone on several occasions. When she sees the star at the “Re-Premiere” in November, she hopes to sit down with Rutherford and explain what her book is really about.

“I think she’ll give me that chance,” Witt says. “Ann Rutherford is so gracious, and more than once I’ve heard her say how important it is to her to draw in new generations of fans to Gone With the Wind.”

“My hope is that she’ll read The Secret of the Belles and see that it’s really about two girls who share a love of Gone With the Wind – like she and I do ourselves.”

Misconceptions aside, Sullivan believes that Witt’s novel will find its place in the Gone With the Wind legacy.

“I think The Secret of the Belles has earned its own short hand ‘initials’ name, just like GWTW,” he says. “TSOTB!”

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The Secret of the Belles by Kathryn Witt is available at all bookstores, Amazon.com, Barnesand Noble.com and Borders.com. Autographed copies may be ordered through the author’s website at www.kathywitt.com, where you’ll find more information about the book. Autographed copies may be purchased during the event, “70 Years of Gone With the Wind: A Re-Premiere,” Nov. 13 and 14, at the Marietta Gone With the Wind Museum-Scarlett on the Square in Marietta, Ga. Tickets for this event are available by calling 770-794-5145 or emailing csutherland@mariettaga.gov. “Re-Premiere” event package and price, as well as the agenda, may be seen at www.gwtwmarietta.com.

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