Studies in Scarlett

Thirty-one years in the business, and Faith Brunson had never seen anything like Sept. 28. That was the Saturday Alexandra Ripley, author of Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, came to Rich's department store in Atlanta. People started lining up four hours before the store opened. Once inside, they dashed up the down escalator to secure a favorable position. They brought ice chests, lawn chairs, baby strollers — ''everything necessary to set up housekeeping for a few hours,'' says Brunson, the retired Rich's book buyer who was called back to handle Scarlett.

When Ripley arrived at 12:30 p.m., the crowd clapped and screamed. ''A few reached out and touched her like she was Vivien Leigh,'' Brunson says. ''They didn't care if she had written a good book or not. She had become a part of the legend'' — the legend of Gone With the Wind.

For the next seven hours, Ripley signed 5,000 books. Twice she rested briefly, and once she went to the ladies' room. A small group of imploring women followed her. ''If you'll just hand your books over the wall,'' Ripley said graciously, ''I'll sign them in here.''

Before Brunson left that night, she counted the unsold copies of Scarlett. The grand total: 11. Even the cardboard cartons the books had arrived in were gone. ''People were carrying those boxes out like books had arrived in were gone. ''People were carrying those boxes out like they were gold,'' says Brunson. ''They also stole our signs announcing that Ripley was coming.''

Scarlett had only been on sale four days but it was already a phenomenon. Two million copies later, people are still arguing the merits of what will probably be the fastest-selling novel in American history, still trying to figure out how and why it has become a national obsession. ''I was amazed that people cared that much,'' says Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Celestine Sibley, who reports that the half-dozen local folks she has consulted didn't enjoy the book.

While not quite willing to take up arms in disagreement, Atlanta retiree Grace Pike asserts that Scarlett was ''great, fantastic.'' Anyone who enjoyed GWTW as much as she did, Pike concludes, echoing the sentiments of many, ''could not fail to want to read Scarlett.''