When Margaret Mitchell first published her lengthy Civil War novel in 1936, she could not have known the fame --- or the notoriety --- it would achieve. GONE WITH THE WIND has become an international favorite read --- second only, we are told, to the Bible --- and a pet object of scorn amongst literary critics, Southern historians and advocates of racial tolerance, all of whom see it as irretrievably flawed.

"Donald McCaig and the Margaret Mitchell Estate that authorized RUTH’S JOURNEY are assured of a readership thirsty for its release and are doubtless warmly anticipating the hullabaloo it will engender."

Following up on his 2007 bestseller, RHETT BUTLER’S PEOPLE, novelist Donald McCaig once again is charging into the fray and adding to the legend with a prequel. This one, RUTH’S JOURNEY, focuses on the redoubtable maid Mammy, named Ruth here. His historical novel fleshes out the character of this strong-minded, oftentimes scolding woman who is briefly sketched in Mitchell’s classic work. He gives her origins in post-revolution Haiti and a life of devotion to her French mistress Solange and daughter Ellen, Scarlett’s O’Hara’s mother.

The early portion of the book overflows with people and plot lines, bringing in the real-life freed slave Denmark Vesey to speak for the oppressed and offer Ruth, whose husband will be hanged after a slave rebellion, a vision of liberty. The story gains traction when Mammy (nicknamed for her ability as an infant caregiver) and Ellen, newly wed to rough-hewn Gerald O’Hara, join forces to make the Tara plantation a showpiece of the Low Country. The final section is told through the words of Ruth, composed in what may be seen as a valiant but discomfiting attempt to recreate the accents of the plantation slave quarters. McCaig endows Ruth with wisdom beyond her raising, as she comments on the complex love life of the youthful, saucy Scarlett and the distant drums of war.

The prequel is always a controversial genre, and this one will be no exception. While GONE WITH THE WIND had the grand sweep of a nation divided and a doomed civilization crashing in on itself, RUTH’S JOURNEY is able to open that door only a crack. While the former is a classic romance at heart, the latter offers rather dry history and speculation minus the sizzle. And, most significantly, McCaig’s Ruth must live up to the cinematic triumph of Hattie McDaniel, who played Mammy to Mitchell-esque perfection and garnered the first-ever Oscar awarded to an African American.

Still, Donald McCaig and the Margaret Mitchell Estate that authorized RUTH’S JOURNEY are assured of a readership thirsty for its release and are doubtless warmly anticipating the hullabaloo it will engender.