Lanie Sullivan and Belle Blakely never meet, but they share a fascination for all things Gone With the Wind-especially Belle Watling, a character in the book, and Ona Munson, the actress who portrays Belle in the movie. Lanie meets Ona in 1939, during the three-day movie premiere. When Lanie thwarts a thief in Ona's hotel room, Ona rewards Lanie with a gift-a gift originally given to Ona by Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mitchell.
More than sixty years later, as she helps prepare a museum dedicated to Gone With the Wind for its Grand Opening, Belle reads Lanie's letters to Ona and is intrigued by Lanie's references to the gift. Margaret Mitchell died in 1949; Ona Munson in 1955. What about Lanie? Belle begins a quest to discover what the gift was that connects the three women, where it is now-and what happened to Lanie Sullivan.
I saw Gone With the Wind for the first time when it was re-released in 1947. My girlfriends and I had just read the book. Like millions and millions of girls before and after, we were spellbound.
We formed a fan club called the FMDIDGADs, which stood for Frankly, my dear I don't give a . . .-well, you know the word. For parochial school seventh graders, that was very risky. What if Sister Ceciliana heard us?
We were besotted.
Kathryn Witt's The Secret of the Belles captures the powerful spell that Gone With the Wind casts over two young women generations apart. Her writing shows her love for the book and film as well as her careful research. This is a beautiful read, and another amazing tribute to the phenomenon that is Gone With the Wind.
Cammie King Conlon, Bonnie Blue Butler, Gone With the Wind