<Tr> <Th> Dewey Decimal </Th> <Td> 813.52 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> Scarlett Rhett Butler's People </Td> </Tr> <P> Gone with the Wind is a novel by American writer Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936 . The story is set in Clayton County and Atlanta, both in Georgia, during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era . It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well - to - do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of poverty following Sherman's destructive "March to the Sea". This historical novel features a Bildungsroman or coming - of - age story, with the title taken from a poem written by Ernest Dowson . </P> <P> Gone with the Wind was popular with American readers from the outset and was the top American fiction bestseller in the year it was published and in 1937 . As of 2014, a Harris poll found it to be the second favorite book of American readers, just behind the Bible . More than 30 million copies have been printed worldwide . </P>

When does gone with the wind take place