Bre H. reviewed on + 16 more book reviews
He's tall, dark and handsome, a dashing man with a mischievous smile that radiates from his eyes. It's the smile, perhaps, that contagious smirk, that garners such fascination for this man, the literary character with the power to capture a girl's heart quicker than any other creation of ink and imagination. (Mr. Darcy, who?)
He's Rhett Butler, the rough point of Margaret Mitchell's infamous love triangle, and he is the archetypal "bad boy" - the charming rogue, exiled by his family, a rebel blockade runner and a contradiction to the traditions his Southern homeland holds dear. But it is his relationship with the fiery Scarlett O'Hara that creates one of the greatest love stories of our time, for his calloused exterior melts under the gaze of that green-eyed girl, and his feelings for her are portrayed so acutely in Donald McCaig's retelling of "Gone with the Wind" that female readers yearn to be the object of that deep an adoration. "Rosemary, in his heart, your brother is a lover," Melanie Wilkes writes in a letter to Rosemary Butler, her confidant and Rhett's sister. "The shrewd businessman, the adventurer, the dandy are but costumes the lover wears."
In writing the untold story of Rhett Butler, McCaig has put to paper what all book-lovers do after encountering a literary figure who so captivates us that they live on in our imaginations long after we've finished the novel. Commissioned by the Mitchell estate, "Rhett Butlers People" stays true to the facts of its predecessor while revealing the details of Rhett's life that give insight into the nuances of his character, as well as his inner thoughts and explanations for many unanswered questions. (Why was Rhett exiled from Charleston, and why was he imprisoned after the war?) Opening with the mysterious duel between Rhett and Belle Watling's brother, McCaig's tale begins 11 years before the first chapter of "Gone with the Wind," and continues for several chapters after the original conclusion, offering a reconciliation between Rhett and Scarlett after "Frankly, my dear" that differs from the scenario Alexander Ripley creates in "Scarlett," the storys first authorized sequel.
Aptly named, the novel tells not only the story of Mr. Butler himself, but those of other important figures in his life, devoting entire chapters to characters such as his baby sister Rosemary, whose relationship with her brother is quite touching, the unrefined yet endearing Belle Watling and her son Tazewell, many of Rhett's closest friends (and also some enemies) and even Melanie Hamilton Wilkes, with whom Rhett shares a mutual admiration and affection. McCaig was chosen for the job because his treatment of the Civil War in his most popular preceding novel, "Jacobs Ladder," and he weaves the war's progression into each chapter, bringing the fictional plotlines to life against a historical background. At the heart of the story, however, is the maddening attraction between Rhett and Scarlett, two characters whose stark similarities make them all wrong for each other yet so right all at the same time. They love passionately and fight passionately, yet even as she angers him, she leaves him vulnerable.
"I never said I loved you, you know," she said, as if she weren't quite sure. The air in the small space between them hummed His muscles ached from holding still, from not reaching out and taking her. In a husky voice, he managed to say, "I admire your candor." Because his hands ached to touch her, to ravish her, to close around her throat and murder her, Rhett Butler bowed stiffly, brushed past his wife, and walked out of the house onto Peachtree Street, hatless in the cold rain."
Though a bit slow in parts, the entertainment value of "Rhett Butlers People" is enough to warrant attention from any romantic historical fiction enthusiast, though its treatment of several significant events assumes that readers already know the framework and some of the details of "Gone with the Wind." The disclosure of little Bonnie Blue's accident, for instance, may seem almost flippant to the reader who knows naught of her fate. But for "Gone with the Wind" fanatics like myself, the novel reignites a fascination with the Old South and gives us many more reasons to adore the charming Rhett Butler.
He's Rhett Butler, the rough point of Margaret Mitchell's infamous love triangle, and he is the archetypal "bad boy" - the charming rogue, exiled by his family, a rebel blockade runner and a contradiction to the traditions his Southern homeland holds dear. But it is his relationship with the fiery Scarlett O'Hara that creates one of the greatest love stories of our time, for his calloused exterior melts under the gaze of that green-eyed girl, and his feelings for her are portrayed so acutely in Donald McCaig's retelling of "Gone with the Wind" that female readers yearn to be the object of that deep an adoration. "Rosemary, in his heart, your brother is a lover," Melanie Wilkes writes in a letter to Rosemary Butler, her confidant and Rhett's sister. "The shrewd businessman, the adventurer, the dandy are but costumes the lover wears."
In writing the untold story of Rhett Butler, McCaig has put to paper what all book-lovers do after encountering a literary figure who so captivates us that they live on in our imaginations long after we've finished the novel. Commissioned by the Mitchell estate, "Rhett Butlers People" stays true to the facts of its predecessor while revealing the details of Rhett's life that give insight into the nuances of his character, as well as his inner thoughts and explanations for many unanswered questions. (Why was Rhett exiled from Charleston, and why was he imprisoned after the war?) Opening with the mysterious duel between Rhett and Belle Watling's brother, McCaig's tale begins 11 years before the first chapter of "Gone with the Wind," and continues for several chapters after the original conclusion, offering a reconciliation between Rhett and Scarlett after "Frankly, my dear" that differs from the scenario Alexander Ripley creates in "Scarlett," the storys first authorized sequel.
Aptly named, the novel tells not only the story of Mr. Butler himself, but those of other important figures in his life, devoting entire chapters to characters such as his baby sister Rosemary, whose relationship with her brother is quite touching, the unrefined yet endearing Belle Watling and her son Tazewell, many of Rhett's closest friends (and also some enemies) and even Melanie Hamilton Wilkes, with whom Rhett shares a mutual admiration and affection. McCaig was chosen for the job because his treatment of the Civil War in his most popular preceding novel, "Jacobs Ladder," and he weaves the war's progression into each chapter, bringing the fictional plotlines to life against a historical background. At the heart of the story, however, is the maddening attraction between Rhett and Scarlett, two characters whose stark similarities make them all wrong for each other yet so right all at the same time. They love passionately and fight passionately, yet even as she angers him, she leaves him vulnerable.
"I never said I loved you, you know," she said, as if she weren't quite sure. The air in the small space between them hummed His muscles ached from holding still, from not reaching out and taking her. In a husky voice, he managed to say, "I admire your candor." Because his hands ached to touch her, to ravish her, to close around her throat and murder her, Rhett Butler bowed stiffly, brushed past his wife, and walked out of the house onto Peachtree Street, hatless in the cold rain."
Though a bit slow in parts, the entertainment value of "Rhett Butlers People" is enough to warrant attention from any romantic historical fiction enthusiast, though its treatment of several significant events assumes that readers already know the framework and some of the details of "Gone with the Wind." The disclosure of little Bonnie Blue's accident, for instance, may seem almost flippant to the reader who knows naught of her fate. But for "Gone with the Wind" fanatics like myself, the novel reignites a fascination with the Old South and gives us many more reasons to adore the charming Rhett Butler.
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