Product Description

Until recently, the odd thought Margaret Mitchell had only one story to tell: Gone With the Wind. Now meet a heroine to match Scarlett: Courtenay Ross, a feisty, independent-minded woman, and the two men -- one a cool-headed, well-heeled gentleman, the other a hot-blooded, pugnacious sailor -- who adore her. A tale of yearning, valor, and devotion, Lost Laysen enthralls from its delightful beginning to its unforgettable end.

Equally intriguing is the story behind the story -- the real-life romance that inspired Mitchell: how she gave the original manuscript as a gift to her beau. Henry Love Angel, and how the manuscript, along with Mitchell's intimate letters and treasured photographs, were lovingly safeguarded only to be discovered decades later in a shoebox!

Lost Laysen is pure magic, a gift for us to cherish from America's most beloved storyteller.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #448242 in Books
• Published on: 1997-05-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Amazon.com Review
Until 1995, Gone with the Wind--the 1937 Pulitzer Prize winner and perhaps the bestselling novel of all time--was the only published work of fiction credited to Margaret Mitchell. But 45 years after her death, the Road to Tara Museum unveiled what amounts to a national treasure--a novella written by America's most beloved storyteller. Lost Laysen is an exciting tale of love and honor on a South Pacific island. A rough-edged Irish boatsman is smitten with the feisty and independent Courtenay Ross. "Charley boy, I sure did love that little woman, I couldn't help it, tho I knew I never had a chance--she wasn't my kind. I wonder why it's always the little women that appeal to us big fellows?" Courtenay is engaged to a dapper young American who loves her so much, he follows her to the remote island of Laysen to persuade her to come home. What's so remarkable about this story is that Mitchell was just 16 when she put pen to paper and wrote the entire piece in less than a month's time.

Henry Love Angel, a close friend and likely admirer, was the recipient of the two notebooks in which the manuscript for Lost Laysen was written. It was Angel's grandson who discovered the amazing treasure that had been passed down to him--a box of photographs, negatives, correspondence from Mitchell to Angel, and the manuscript. "My dear--" begins one letter. "I was so proud of you, last time I saw you--proud of your love, your courage and resignation and most of all your self confidence. Don't let it drop my dear. I have prayed so hard that you would have it because without it you can never amount to much. With it and work, the world lies ahead. If ever you begin to get discouraged and lose confidence in your self--draw on my supply for I believe in you. Just set your mark and go to it." The never-before-seen photographs show Mitchell and a variety of friends goofing for the camera. This book provides charming insight into a brief period of Mitchell's life--one full of youthful folly, exuberance, and obvious joy.

From Library Journal
This recently discovered tale of love in the South Pacific, published to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Gone with the Wind, was written when Mitchell was 16.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Cannot compare to "Gone with the wind"
Having read and re-read "Gone with the Wind", I desperately wanted to read other books by Margaret Mitchell, and was thoroughly disappointed to learn that it was the only work by the author, until I discovered "Lost Laysen".

But after having read it, which, didn't take me more than a half hour, I was disappointed even more. The book contains a few letters between Margaret Mitchell and her Beau, Henry Love Angel, and several pictures. In the correspondence, Margaret comes across as a somewhat selfish lover with almost no feelings for Henry and in almost every letter, asks Henry to run some or the other errand for her. The pictures are interesting, though. Apart from the letters and pictures is a story written by Margaret when she was sixteen, which she later presented to Henry. The story ends almost before it begins. It's about a "Miss Ross", and her experiences on board a small ship called "Caliban".

Margaret Mitchell has an astounding number of fans throughout the world and I feel, this book is NOT AT ALL something they'd like associating their much-loved writer with. It almost spoils her image, if I may say so.

The overwhelming emotion you are left with, after having finished the book is, disappointment, in capital letters.

I will not recommend the book to anyone, let alone Margaret Mitchell lovers.

Sad but Wonderful
I found this book quite by accident. I was so excited I read it all through my favorite class, art. Later on a school bus, I was a freshman, I read the story itself in a half hour. By the end of the story I was crying so hard my shop teacher wondered what was wrong. I loved it! It was great the way the heroine chose to keep what she held precious even in the face of danger. I also loved the letters between Mitchell and Henry Love Angel that compose the first half of the book. Especially the letter about the train ride and the soldier's coffin. That is probably one of the best forms of symbolism I have ever read.

New Glimpse Of Scarlett O'Hara's Creator
If you're a GWTW fan, don't miss this love story! Lost Laysen is second fiddle to the real story in this offering: Margaret "Peggy" Mitchell's letters to Henry Love Angel. Their story fascinated me much more than the fiction she pinned as a teen. Her letters and the photos and the story of how they surfaced made me feel like the young "Peggy" defied time and was alive again. Peggy's Henry must have been very special!