Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig

I just don't understand how I could have missed this book which came out already in 2007! Me being a fan of Gone With the Wind and all. Unlike the sequel Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley this is not a sequel but takes place at the same time as the story in Gone With the Wind but seen from another angle; that is Rhett Butler and his people. It is an absolutely fantastic book and a MUST for fans of Gone With the Wind.

Reading about the American south,
in the south of Europe, with a glas
of rose overlooking the Mediterranian
Hmmm, not bad

The book follows Rhett Butler and his family from his young years. His parents, brother and his sister who plays the biggest part. There are his childhood friends and the life in Charleston at the time. As the story evolves we also get to meet Scarlett, Melanie and Ashley Wilkes, Miss Pittypat, Mammy, Belle Watling and other old friends. He weaves a fantastic story but wholly credible around these people. The most impressive part is in the way he has taken on the characters. It can not be easy to write on characters created by another author but he does it as if they were his own. Very impressive.

Although, at the time, I read the sequel Scarlett through rather quickly I did not really like how the book saw the future of Scarlett and Rhett. However, as the story is told in this book it makes a perfect match for me. The author is new to me but he has also written Jacob's Ladder which is, according to The Virginia Quarterly "the best civil war novel ever written". I can't wait to put my teeth into that one!