Gone with the Wind

By: Margaret Mitchell

Narrated by: Linda Stephens

Length: 49 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, Margaret Mitchell's great novel of the South is one of the most popular books ever written. Within six months of its publication in 1936, Gone With the Wind had sold a million copies. To date, it has been translated into 25 languages, and more than 28 million copies have been sold.

Here are the characters that have become symbols of passion and desire: darkly handsome Rhett Butler and flirtatious Scarlett O'Hara. Behind them stand their gentler counterparts: Ashley Wilkes and Melanie Hamilton. As the lives and affairs of these absorbing characters play out against the tumult of the Civil War, Gone With the Wind reaches dramatic heights that have swept generations of fans off their feet.

Having lived in Atlanta for many years, narrator Linda Stephens has an authentic ear for the dialects of that region. Get ready to hear Gone With the Wind exactly as it was written: every word beautifully captured in a spectacular unabridged audio production.

©1964 Stephens Mitchell (P)2001 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Beyond a doubt one of the most remarkable first novels produced by an American writer. It is also one of the best." ( The New York Times)
"The best novel to have ever come out of the South...it is unsurpassed in the whole of American writing." ( The Washington Post)

Southern annunciations

While stumbling through voices at times the changing characters there may have been moments throughout the novel as it ebbs and flows, opportunities missed to truly express in accents especially Captian Butler’s and other men.
One usually overtly during dramatic moments loses its inflections that makes southerners tones in voice predictable and boring. After all one voice for the narrator to command is difficult on its own,
Yet multiple voices should include multiple narrators.
The human mind while reading the novel can frequently find the correct voice and read through each character constantly.
Great Novel

Spectacular

I was reluctant to listen to this book because I thought it would be just a boring re-do of the great movie.

However, I think this book is spectacular. I have a personal rating system like Jacob's ladder. This is a five star book above the ordinary five stars. The narration is as good as the book and is what carried me along for several days straight, to the extent I neglected important personal duties...

Besides being a great love story with admirable characters, I learned more history in this book than I thought possible for a single volume. The author captured life in the South during, before and after the Civil War.

Gone With the Wind has been compared to War and Peace. I have listened to them both, and I say War and Peace was a duty to be fulfilled, and that Gone With the Wind an exciting pleasure and a true education, if you want it.

GREAT AMERICAN LOVE STORY, TERRIBLE NARRATOR!

I simply can't believe Linda Stephens was allowed to announce the chapters as though she were calling out bingo numbers! She hollers triumphantly in the moments after someone has died or some serious development has occurred and before the next chapter will continue the story. A real pro narrator will make the chapter headings neutral. But not this poor excuse of a narrator. It's all about her, and we never forget she is reading us a story. She never rises to the level of Juliet Stevenson, Davina Porter or Humphrey Bower, just a few of my favorites. Chapter 22 and Chapter 57 were especially irritating. I could wring her neck!

A great book, despite the racism

I didn't expect to really like this, let alone sustain the length of it...but I found it enjoyable, thought-provoking, and educational. Of course, the racism is appalling, but it's a product of its time I suppose. Its length and the ending would not be my choice, but it is a powerful work about life in the south and the culture of politeness. Linda Stephens does a good job of the narration.

American Classic

Loved the movie ...... Was shocked that the book was different ....... Enjoy listening to this classic ........ Ten stars!!!!!

Timeless Classic

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend Gone With The Wind. It is an amzing book. I've seen the movie more times than I can count and read the book a long time ago, yet it still keeps my attention. I'm 30 hours in and I rarely find my thoughts drifting away in distraction. I thought the 49 hours would last me quite a while. Not so. Even though I know the story so well frrom the moive, I am anxious to get back to listening.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gone with the Wind?

Just about any time Scarlett is stymied by Rhett.

Have you listened to any of Linda Stephens’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first listen with Linda Stephens but she does a great job. Truly.

If you could take any character from Gone with the Wind out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Rhett. He's unconventional and brash, yet very practical. A Rebel with his own cause, yet respectful where respect is due.

Great Listen

If you could sum up Gone with the Wind in three words, what would they be?

So much more than the movie.

Any additional comments?

I was sorry the book was over when I reached the end.

Great narration

This is always been one of my favorite books, but the narrator made it better than what it's ever been. She had every voice down and I could not stop listening. It made it good to read again

great book

loved hearing this story, it was so well presented. Would recommend it to all ages.

Finally Read this One!

One of those books I have always meant to read but never got around to it or when I did check it out of the library couldn't get interested in it after the first chapter. I enjoyed the audiobook version of Gone With the Wind though! The movie is very different from the book, but the basic storyline is the same. I guess this is why it was hard for me to get into the printed book since I already knew what would happen to Scarlett in the end. I enjoyed getting to hear the parts of the story that were deleted or changed for the movie. Definitely a must for any American South Lit List.