THIRTEEN's American Masters explores the Pulitzer Prize-winning women behind classic novels Gone With the Wind and To Kill a Mockingbird Monday, April 2 on PBS.
Though their successes were nearly 30 years apart, Margaret Mitchell (11/8/1900 - 8/16/1949) and Nelle Harper Lee (born 4/28/1926) share much in common: two Southern white women who each won the Pulitzer Prize for their debut novels - Gone With the Wind (1936) and To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), respectively - two of the bestselling classic books of all time, both adapted into timeless, Oscar®-winning films.
Both women were ahead of their time, challenging the social order and making a cultural impact with their books that still resonates today. THIRTEEN's American Masters delves into the lives of these authors in two documentaries premiering on Monday, April 2: Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel from 9-10 p.m. , immediately followed by Harper Lee: Hey, Boo from 10-11:30 p.m. on WNET New York.
Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel engages leading historians, biographers and personal friends to reveal a complex woman who experienced profound identity shifts during her life and struggled with the two great issues of her day: the changing role of women and the liberation of African Americans. A charismatic force until a tragic accident lead to her death at age 48, Mitchell rebelled against the stifling social restrictions placed on women: as an unconventional tomboy, a defiant debutante, a brazen flapper,one of Georgia's first female newspaper reporters, and, later, as a philanthropist who risked her life to fund African American education. Emmy®-winning executive producer/writer Pamela Roberts uses reenactments based on Mitchell's personal letters and journals to show how her upbringing and romantic relationshipsinfluenced the creation of Gone With the Wind. 2012 marks the 75th anniversary of Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize win for the only book published during her lifetime and Gone With the Wind's lasting popularity seems permanently etched in the American cultural landscape.
Harper Lee: Hey, Boo illuminates the phenomenon behind Lee's first and only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the 1962 film version, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Offering an unprecedented look into Lee's mysterious life, Emmy®-winning filmmaker Mary McDonagh Murphy (author of Scout, Atticus & Boo: A Celebration of To Kill a Mockingbird) interviews Lee's friends and family, including her centenarian sister Alice, who share intimate recollections, anecdotes and biographical details for the first time: her rise from small-town Alabama girl to famous author, her tumultuous friendship with Truman Capote, and the origin of her most memorable characters: Atticus Finch, his daughter Scout, her friend Dill, and Boo Radley. Lee gave her last interview in 1964 and receded from the limelight.
"In 2011, American Masters earned its eighth Emmy® Award for Outstanding Primetime Nonfiction Series in 11 years. Now in its 26th season, the series is a production of THIRTEEN for WNET, the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21, New York's public television stations, and operator of NJTV. For nearly 50 years, WNET has been producing and broadcasting national and local documentaries and other programs to the New York community."
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