Harper Lee... An unfortunate passing of an important writer

"My book had a universal theme,” she told the Birmingham Post-Herald in 1962. “It’s not a ‘racial’ novel. It portrays an aspect of civilization, not necessarily Southern civilization.”

Today the world has lost Harper Lee at the age of 89... 

Known as the recluse writer who wrote a book called To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960 that changed the world. It has sold over 30 million copies, and is required reading. Most recently, Harper Lee was back in the news with the publication of a new book, a prequel that was dripping with controversy as to its authenticity, Go Set a Watchman. Though the world always wanted more from Harper Lee, it will have to be satisfied with her one crowning achievement - To Kill a Mockingbird. And what an achievement is was! 

Here are some interesting links about Harper Lee and her passing...

Harper Lee's Novel Achievement by Charles Leerhsen, Smithsonianmag.com

Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, author dies at 89 by Theguardian.com

Harper Lee: US author of To Kill a Mockingbird dies aged 89 reported by the BBC online

Harper Lee, Author Of 'To Kill A Mockingbird,' Dies At Age 89 reported by NPR

How Harper Lee's Long-Lost Sequel Was Found by Russel Berman of The Atlantic.com

Have you Heard?!… Scout grows up!

It's the talk of the town... and every literary circle around the world… a lost manuscript for "the sequel" to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been rescued from obscurity!

Go Set a Watchman, is scheduled to be published by Harper Collins in July. It is essentially the follow-up to To Kill a Mockingbird, about Scout, 20 years later, going back home..

" When Scout travels to her small Southern town of Maycomb, from New York City, to visit her father, Atticus, she is, Harper explained, "forced to grapple with issues both personal and political as she tries to understand both her father’s attitude toward society, and her own feelings about the place where she was born and spent her childhood."… A. P. Report

Though "the sequel" is really what the original book was going to be, Harper Lee's publisher liked the parts of the story where Scout was reflecting on her days of growing up, and the publisher asked Lee to work on this aspect of the story, so she did.

Even though there is much excitement about the prospect of a new book written by one of America's most reclusive writer's, there is also controversy… 2 months after Harper Lee's sister Alice passed away, the one person in Harper Lee's life that protected her ferociously from the outside world, we have Harper Lee agreeing to be thrown back in the spotlight after 50 plus years with an unedited first attempt at a novel that she agreed to have published as is. In declining health, living in an assisted living facility near her home in Monroeville, AL, already "possibly" forgetting some of the things she agreed to such as her blessing on the Marja Mills novel, The Mockingbird Next Door, or having to sue to retain her copyright for To Kill a Mockingbird, which she signed over to her publisher (would she knowingly do that?!), and even suing the town museum that honors her book, it has been asked, is anyone taking advantage of Miss Nelle? It certainly would be a goldmine to publish anything written by Harper Lee. The world has waited over 50 years for another novel.

Oh, how I hope this book is being published with Harper Lee's blessing! I was enjoying The Mockingbird Next Door by Marja Mills, the book about Harper Lee and her sister that Marja wrote while living next door to Harper Lee in Monroeville, until I read that Harper Lee said the book was "unauthorized". But then Penguin produced a letter signed by Harper Lee saying she did give her blessing. With her affairs essentially being handled by attorneys now, since neither Lee sister had children, we may never know the true sentiments of Harper Lee. But in any case, I look forward to peeking between the pages of a new Harper Lee novel that I hope she would want the world to enjoy.

Read more from…

The BBC, The Vulture, and Publishers Weekly

Memoir Monday and The Mockingbird Next Door by Marja Mills

About the Book, from the author's website… To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of the best loved novels of the twentieth century. But for the last fifty years, the novel’s celebrated author, Harper Lee, has said almost nothing on the record. Journalists have trekked to her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, where Harper Lee, known to her friends as Nelle, has lived with her sister, Alice, for decades, trying and failing to get an interview with the author. But in 2001, the Lee sisters opened their door to Chicago Tribune journalist Marja Mills. It was the beginning of a long conversation—and a great friendship.

In 2004, with the Lees’ blessing, Mills moved into the house next door to the sisters. She spent the next eighteen months there, sharing coffee at McDonalds and trips to the Laundromat with Nelle, feeding the ducks and going out for catfish supper with the sisters, and exploring all over lower Alabama with the Lees’ inner circle of friends.

Nelle shared her love of history, literature, and the Southern way of life with Mills, as well as her keen sense of how journalism should be practiced. As the sisters decided to let Mills tell their story, Nelle helped make sure she was getting the story—and the South—right. Alice, the keeper of the Lee family history, shared the stories of their family.

The Mockingbird Next Door is the story of Mills’s friendship with the Lee sisters. It is a testament to the great intelligence, sharp wit, and tremendous storytelling power of these two women, especially that of Nelle.

Mills was given a rare opportunity to know Nelle Harper Lee, to be part of the Lees’ life in Alabama, and to hear them reflect on their upbringing, their corner of the Deep South, how To Kill a Mockingbird affected their lives, and why Nelle Harper Lee chose to never write another novel. 

Here's another wonderful example of a recluse author opening up for us all to enjoy. The reviews of this book point out that there is nothing earth shattering revealed here, but a wonderful testament to Southern hospitality and a wonderful way of life. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books, and I look forward to The Mockingbird Next Door! On my TBR list!

The Sunday Salon Celebrates To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Happy Anniversary to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee! It's been 50 years since Scout, Atticus & Boo Radley made their first appearance in the pages of To Kill a Mockingbird, and there are celebrations galore surrounding the beloved classic book that still sells almost a million copies a year!

Have you read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee by Harper Lee? To Kill a Mockingbird is told through the eyes of young Scout Finch, a tomboy with a good head on her shoulders and a wisdom that seems beyond her years. Set in the deep south during the Great Depression, the story gives us a wonderful glimpse into the hardships and attitudes of that time period. Scout shares the story with her brother Jem, their friend Dill, and their father, Atticus, a widower and a lawyer, who instills in his children the moral virtues of right & wrong, and his belief that everyone is created equal. What should be another lazy summer of childhood adventures for Scout, Jem and their new friend Dill, becomes a heated bed of racial tension when Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a young white woman. Atticus Finch takes the case to defend Tom Robinson and the lives of Atticus, Scout and Jem are changed forever. The writing is wonderful, and as fresh as it was 50 years ago. My reading group read this a few years ago and everyone just loved it! Although not everyone loves To Kill a Mockingbird - it's one of the most frequently challenged books, controversial due to it's portrayal of racial themes, and for its' discussion of rape.

One of the newest books to come out recently is Scout, Atticus & Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird by Mary McDonagh Murphy. Mary is an independent film writer & producer, whose love of To Kill a Mockingbird and admiration of Harper Lee led her to produce her documentary HEY, BOO: HARPER LEE AND TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Scout, Atticus & Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird is the book that compliments the documentary. Here's what the publishers write...

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird, Mary McDonagh Murphy reviews its history and examines how the novel has left its mark on a broad range of novelists, historians, journalists, and artist. In compelling interviews, Anna Quindlen, Tomw Brokaw, Oprah Winfrey... and others reflect on when they first read the novel, what it means to them- then and now- and how it has affected their lives and careers. Harper Lee has not given an interview since 1964, but Murphy's reporting, research, and rare interviews with the author's sister and friends stitch together a b

rief history of how the novel, as well as the acclaimed 1962 move came to be. I'm very interested to read the history of the novel, and I'm sure Mary's background in film making helps her paint a vivid and thorough picture.

What celebration of To Kill a Mockingbird would be complete without acknowledging the author herself! Harper Lee's won the Pulitzer Prize for To Kill a Mockingbird in 1961. Unfortunately it's the only book she ever published. There have been rumors over the years that Harper Lee wrote her childhood friend Truman Capote's book, In Cold Blood, due to her heavy involvement in the research, but we'll never know... Harper Lee leads a life away from the spotlight, rarely granting interviews. We may be able to get a glimpse into the woman behind the book in Mockingbird, a Portrait of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields. Charles Shields was an English teacher whose constant questions about Harper Lee from his students motivated him to find out about her life while the people from her life were still with us. Through "600 hundred interviews and other sorts of communication with Harper Lee's friends, associates, and former classmates. It's also the product of four years of research into the papers of her friend Truman Capote, which include Lee's notes for his book In Cold Blood, the papers of Lee's literary agent; the archives of national and local librariesl and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles." Charles J. Shields has given us something to satisfy our desire to know a little more about the author who gave us the feisty little girl named Scott.

You can find out about celebrations around the country at the To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Anniversary site. Celebrations are going on until September. You can find out more about Mary McDonagh Murphy's documentary celebrating To Kill a Mockingbird and see a clip of the documentary at Mary Murphy & Co. HarperCollins is having a GIVEAWAY for a To Kill A Mockingbird Prize pack which includes a copy of the Hardcover Slipcased edition of To Kill a Mockingbird(TKAM), a copy of the trade paperback of TKAM, a DVD of the movie version of TKAM, and a copy of Scott, Atticus and Boo by Mary McDonagh Murphy. You can see all the details at To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Celebration.

How are you celebrating the 50th Anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird? I'm going to listen to the audiobook version of To Kill A Mockingbird narrated by Sissy Spacek. It won an audie for best classic audiobook in 2007, and I heard that Sissy Spacek's voice is perfect to be the voice of Scout Finch. In the meantime, remember...

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." ... Atticus Finch

The Sunday Salon... National Women's History Month & which Women writer's made history with you!

Spring has finally poked its head up from one of the piles of snow you can still find in Connecticut. The temperatures are starting to rise a little and the sun actually came for a visit! The one year Blogoversary celebration wrapped up this week with Cheryl winning Pillars of the Earth, Elaine winning The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns, Helen winning Last Night in Montreal, throuthehaze winning the Romance Bundle, rubynreba winning The Power of Half, Nunah winning The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, and Alyce winning the Kindle Gift Certificate. I'm still waiting to hear from the lucky winners for Alice I Have Been and the Historical Fiction Bundle, so check your emails! And Congrats to all the winners! Even though my celebration is over, there is still some celebrating going on...

March is National Women's History Month! National Women’s History Month provides an excellent venue to recognize and celebrate women’s historic achievements as well as an opportunity to honor women within our families and communities. In 1980, President Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation recognizing Women’s History Week. In 1987, the week was expanded to the entire month of March, and 2010 will mark the 30th anniversary of this celebration! March is the month to celebrate women! From Rosie the Riveter, the fictional character who eventually would come to represent strong independent women, to Sally Ride, the first american woman in space, women (and even fictional women) have made their mark in history. Which women writers do you feel have made their mark in history? Which women writers have made their mark on you? In honor of National Women's History Month, I thought I would mention some great classic women writers...

Sylvia Plath suffered from extreme bipolar depression that ultimately led to her suicide at the age of 30. Her largely autobiography novel, The Bell Jar, "draws the reader into her breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies." And it is this intense honesty showing the origins of Sylvia's own tragedy that made this a landmark in literature. Originally published in England in 1964, there was so much demand for a copy to be printed in the US, that in 1971 through much

controversy, Harper & Row published a copy. Frequently referred to as the female Catcher in the Rye, The Bell Jar is also a coming of age story.

Harper Lee wrote her greatest and only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, which painted a picture of racial inequality and dealt with the serious issue of rape. Controversial in its subject matter, it has repeatedly been challenged and attempted to be removed from more than one library. At the same time it is one of the most widely read books dealing with lessons in tolerance and decrying prejudice.

Harriet Beecher Stowe best known for writing "Uncle Tom's Cabin," which portrays the "moral outrage of slavery and its destructive effects on both whites and blacks". Ms. Stowe lived in Cincinnati across the river from the slave trade and witnesses first hand some of the atrocities of slavery, such as a husband and wife being sold apart. Her observances prompted her to write Uncle Tom's Cabin, which sold half-a-million copies by 1857!

There are some writers that are important to me because they held a hand out to me as I was growing up and invited me in... these are some of the writers that helped along my reading obsession...

Louisa May Alcott who invited me into a family of sisters, when I was an only child; Emily Bronte who gave me Heathcliff; Carolyn Keene, who really is just as fictional as her character Nancy Drew, but let me tag along to investigate with Nancy and learn all about how to solve a mystery & who eventually introduced me to Agatha Christie, who taught me about how to use a flashlight under the covers, and why nightlights are necessary...

Of course there are many more contemporary women writers I love & admire too... but we'd be here all day as I list them! OK, here are just a few... Lisa See, Diana Gabaldon, Bernice L. McFadden, and Margaret Atwood... Emily Carmichael, Sarah Strohmeyer, and Janet Evanovich... Audrey Niffenegger, Maya Angelou, & Judy Blume...Which are your favorite women writers? And who would you like to celebrate this month?!

Happy reading... Suzanne