‘PROBLEMATIC’

‘Gone With the Wind’ Novel Slapped With Trigger Warning

Publishers of the Civil War classic have not altered the text, but included an essay which explains how its depiction of slavery and “racist” elements are “harmful.”

Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel Gone With The Wind will now come with a trigger warning and an essay after it was deemed “harmful” by its publishers. The additions will acknowledge the Civil War classic, whose adaptation swept the 1940 Oscars, is “problematic,” claiming that the book adds to the “romanticization of a shocking era in our history and the horrors of slavery.” New editions contain a note at the beginning of the book, according to UK’s The Telegraph, which warns readers the text contains “racist” elements that could be “hurtful or indeed harmful.” It also contains an essay, written by The Other Boleyn Girl author Philippa Gregory, explaining how the book contains elements of white supremacism. While classics by Agatha Christie and Ian Fleming have been rewritten and modified recently, publisher Pan Macmillan decided not to edit the work—while insisting that the decision does not “constitute an endorsement.” The decision follows earlier calls to add a trigger warning to the 1939 movie.