Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University History Dissertations Department of History 8-2-2007 "A Tough Little aP tch of History": Atlanta's Marketplace for Gone with the Wind Memory Jennifer Word Dickey Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss Recommended Citation Dickey, Jennifer Word, ""A Tough Little aP tch of History": Atlanta's Marketplace for Gone with the Wind Memory." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2007. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss/4 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. “A TOUGH LITTLE PATCH OF HISTORY”: ATLANTA’S MARKETPLACE FOR GONE WITH THE WIND MEMORY By JENNIFER W. DICKEY Under the Direction of Clifford M. Kuhn ABSTRACT Since the 1936 publication of Gone with the Wind and the 1939 release of David O. Selznick’s film version of the book, the city of Atlanta has been associated in the public mind with Margaret Mitchell’s tale of the Old South, the Civil War and Reconstruction. The work of Mitchell and Selznick created images that shaped the public’s understanding of southern history and of Atlanta’s identity. This dissertation examines a series of attempts to capitalize on the fame and popularity of Gone with the Wind in museums in the Atlanta area. Focusing on the interpretive efforts of three entities—the Atlanta History Center, Clayton County, and the Margaret Mitchell House, Inc.—this study reveals the problematic nature of Mitchell’s and Selznick’s work and the impact that the book and film have had on shaping Atlanta’s identity and the public memory of the South.