MARGARET MITCHELL - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 03/24/1937 - HFSID 350546

MARGARET MITCHELL
Mitchell writes a friend and film reviewer Edwin Granberry mentioning the casting of Scarlett O'Hara.
Typed Letter signed: "Margaret", 2 pages, 6½ x 9½. Atlanta, Georgia, March 24, 1937. On personal letterhead to "Dear Edwin" [Granberry]. One ink correction in her hand. Matted and framed to an overall size of 36x26. In part: “We are momentarily expecting the dam to bust. Mr. Cukor, who is to direct “Gone With the Wind,” will be here in the next few days with entourage and loud tooting trumpets. The only reason he is coming is sheer curiosity to see what kind of woman I am who refuses a good salary in Hollywood. However, the natives think he has come here on his knees to beg me to tell just who I think he should pick as Scarlett. As nine-tenths of the natives have already picked themselves for Scarlett, this complicates our lives a little. Of course I want to meet Mr. Cukor, but I will be very glad when his visit is over. I wish he would hurry up and cast the picture, then most of my troubles would be over.” Margaret Mitchell wrote this letter on 24, May 1937, to her friend Edwin Granberry, a writer and reviewer for the New York Sun. Granberry's review of Gone With the Wind on June 30, 1936 was the first that Mitchell read, comparing her with Leo Tolstoy in War and Peace. His compliments elicited a warm letter of thanks from her. From their correspondence came a mutual, lasting friendship that included both their spouses. Fine condition. Framed to an overall size of 36x26. Frame exhibits minor chipping at corners.

Margaret Mitchell Marsh (1900-1949) was awarded the 1937 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for Gone With the Wind, her epic novel set against the backdrop of the American Civil War and Reconstruction South. At first uncertain about her book's literary merit, she had submitted her manuscript to Macmillan Company in 1935. Mitchell - who wrote using her maiden name - was stunned -- and thrust into the public spotlight -- when the book sold over 1.3 million copies in its first year. It remained on the best-seller list for 21 weeks, enjoying a resurgence in sales with the release of the 1939 film based on the novel.