Alexandra Ripley (néeBraid; January 8, 1934 – January 10, 2004) was an American writer best known as the author ofScarlett (1991), written as a sequel toGone with the Wind. Her first novel wasWho's the Lady in the President's Bed? (1972).Charleston (1981), her first historical novel, was a bestseller, as were her next booksOn Leaving Charleston (1984),The Time Returns (1985), andNew Orleans Legacy (1987).
BornAlexandra Elizabeth Braid inCharleston, South Carolina, she attended the eliteAshley Hall and received a Bachelor of Arts degree fromVassar College inPoughkeepsie, New York in 1955 with a major in the Russian language.[1] She was married three times: from 1958 to 1963 to Leonard Ripley,[2] an early partner and recording engineer atElektra Records, from 1971 to 1981 to Thomas Martin Garlock (1929–2008), and in 1981 to John Vincent Graham (1926–2007), a former professor at theUniversity of Virginia, from whom she was legally separated at the time of her death.
Ripley was selected by the Margaret Mitchell estate to write a sanctioned sequel toGone With the Wind.[3]Scarlett was panned by critics. Despite this, the novel was a commercial success;Scarlett sold millions of copies and remains in print.[1]
She died of natural causes at her home inRichmond, Virginia, and is survived by two daughters.[1]
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