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Harper Lee to publish sequel to “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee to publish sequel to ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’
(35 minutes later)
F. Scott Fitzgerald famously claimed, “There are no second acts in American lives,” but Harper Lee is out to prove him wrong.F. Scott Fitzgerald famously claimed, “There are no second acts in American lives,” but Harper Lee is out to prove him wrong.
The beloved author will publish her second novel this summer. “Go Set a Watchman” was written more than 50 years ago — before her Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, “To Kill a Mockingbird” — but it was never published.The beloved author will publish her second novel this summer. “Go Set a Watchman” was written more than 50 years ago — before her Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, “To Kill a Mockingbird” — but it was never published.
In a statement released this morning, the 88-year-old author explained that when she was just starting off, she wrote “Go Set a Watchman” about a woman nicknamed Scout who returns home to Maycomb to visit her father, Atticus. After reading the manuscript, her editor asked her to re-write the story from the point of view of Scout as a child. “I was a first-time writer,” Lee said, “so I did as I was told.” The result was “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a novel that has sold 40 million copies since it was first published in 1960. In a statement released this morning, the 88-year-old author explained that when she was just starting off, she wrote “Go Set a Watchman” about a woman nicknamed Scout who returns home to Maycomb to visit her father, Atticus. After reading the manuscript, her editor asked her to rewrite the story from the point of view of Scout as a child. “I was a first-time writer,” Lee said, “so I did as I was told.” The result was “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a novel that has sold 40 million copies since it was first published in 1960.
The original story, “Go Set a Watchman,” was forgotten.The original story, “Go Set a Watchman,” was forgotten.
“I hadn’t realized it had survived,” Lee said, “so was surprised and delighted when my dear friend and lawyer Tonja Carter discovered it. After much thought and hesitation I shared it with a handful of people I trust and was pleased to hear that they considered it worthy of publication. I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years.”“I hadn’t realized it had survived,” Lee said, “so was surprised and delighted when my dear friend and lawyer Tonja Carter discovered it. After much thought and hesitation I shared it with a handful of people I trust and was pleased to hear that they considered it worthy of publication. I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years.”
Harper plans to publish 2 million copies.
Harper publisher Jonathan Burnham said, “This is a remarkable literary event. The existence of ‘Go Set a Watchman’ was unknown until recently, and its discovery is an extraordinary gift to the many readers and fans of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Reading in many ways like a sequel to Harper Lee’s classic novel, it is a compelling and ultimately moving narrative about a father and a daughter’s relationship, and the life of a small Alabama town living through the racial tensions of the 1950s.”Harper publisher Jonathan Burnham said, “This is a remarkable literary event. The existence of ‘Go Set a Watchman’ was unknown until recently, and its discovery is an extraordinary gift to the many readers and fans of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Reading in many ways like a sequel to Harper Lee’s classic novel, it is a compelling and ultimately moving narrative about a father and a daughter’s relationship, and the life of a small Alabama town living through the racial tensions of the 1950s.”
Although not a recluse, Lee has led a strikingly private life, and she rarely appears in public. In 2011, President Obama honored her with the National Medal of Arts. Although not a recluse, Lee has led a strikingly private life, and she rarely appears in public. In 2011, President Obama honored her with the National Medal of Arts. In 2007, President George W. Bush bestowed upon her a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
But more recently, Lee has been drawn into less pleasant events.
Last July, Lee got into a bitter argument with former Chicago Tribune reporter Marja Mills, who had published a biography called “The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee.”
Mills said she had enjoyed the cooperation of the novelist and her older sister, and a Washington Post reviewer called the book “sympathetic and respectful,” but Lee spoke out strongly against the biography. “Rest assured,” she wrote in a public letter, “as long as I am alive any book purporting to be with my cooperation is a falsehood.”
Mills countered with evidence that she had, in fact, been given the sisters’ blessing, and her publisher, Penguin Press, stood by her. The debate was particularly awkward because it pitted an admiring biographer against one of the most beloved authors in the country.