Gone with the WindGone with the Wind
Score Classic
What it's about
It's 1861 in north Georgia, and sixteen-year-old Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled, scheming belle of the plantation Tara, cares about nothing but the man she can't have, Ashley Wilkes. Then the Civil War comes. Over the next twelve years, through the siege and burning of Atlanta, hunger, ruin and Reconstruction, Scarlett decides she will survive at any cost, and clashes again and again with the one man who sees right through her, the blockade runner Rhett Butler. It's a historical epic and a long, stormy love story.
Why it's worth reading
Few novels are this addictive at this length. Scarlett is one of fiction's great antiheroines, selfish, brave and maddening, and the sweep from Atlanta in flames to the ruins of Tara is pure storytelling.
You'll love it if you liked
Anna Karenina
War and Peace
Lonesome DoveGood to know
It's over 1,000 pages. It's also a product of 1936: it romanticizes the Confederacy and portrays enslaved and Black characters through racist stereotypes. Many readers find it worth reading with that in mind.
By the numbers
- Readers93 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics86 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller94 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Epic
If you like this, read next
Middlemarch
G.
Howards End
The French Lieutenant's Woman
Lessons in Chemistry
The Red and the BlackExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Gone with the Wind worth reading?
Yes. Few novels are this addictive at this length. It ranks #8 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 94.6 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Gone with the Wind about?
It's 1861 in north Georgia, and sixteen-year-old Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled, scheming belle of the plantation Tara, cares about nothing but the man she can't have, Ashley Wilkes. Then the Civil War comes. Over the next twelve years, through the siege and burning of Atlanta, hunger, ruin and Reconstruction, Scarlett decides she will survive at any cost, and clashes again and again with the one man who sees right through her, the blockade runner Rhett Butler. It's a historical epic and a long, stormy love story.
How long does it take to read Gone with the Wind?
About 24 hours (976 pages), or about 7 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has Gone with the Wind won?
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner (1937).
What should I read after Gone with the Wind?
If you liked it, try Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy or Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.