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Though their successes were nearly 30 years apart, Margaret Mitchell (Nov. 8, 1900 to Aug. 6, 1949) and Nelle Harper Lee (born April 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 resonates today. American Masters delves into the lives of these authors in two documentaries premiering Monday, April 2: Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel at 8:00 p.m. immediately followed by Harper Lee: Hey, Boo at 9:00 p.m.

“I am delighted to present these two remarkable writers on the same evening. Each woman so distinct in her own right, each so similar in many respects – both contributing novels that became the collective inheritance of the American reader,” says Susan Lacy, American Masters series creator and executive producer.

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 led 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 relationships influenced the creation of Gone With the Wind. The film also explores Scarlett and Rhett’s place as two of the world’s greatest lovers and the public’s initial reception to the book and David O. Selznick’s 1939 epic film – from racial lightning rod to model for survival. 2012 marks the 75th anniversary of Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize win for the only book published during her lifetime. 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,which celebrates 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: Harper's 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.

The documentary also explores the context and history of the novel’s Deep South setting and the social changes it inspired after publication and through the film version starring Gregory Peck. Tom Brokaw, Rosanne Cash, Anna Quindlen, Scott Turow, Oprah Winfrey, and others reflect on the novel’s power, influence, popularity, and the ways it has shaped their lives. Lee gave her last interview in 1964 and receded from the limelight.

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