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Acclaimed novelist Harper Lee, whose 1960 book "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a cornerstone of American literature, will release a second book this summer.
"Go Set a Watchman" will tell the story of Scout Finch, the young protagonist of Lee's earlier novel, as an adult, going home to visit her father, Atticus. Lee had developed the manuscript in the 1950s but set it aside to work on "Mockingbird" at the advice of her editor.
Lee thought the manuscript had disappeared, but her lawyer discovered it in her sister Alice’s archives last fall. Alice was frequently called “Atticus in a skirt” in their Alabama hometown.
“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,” Lee said in a statement.
"To Kill a Mockingbird" chronicles the story of Atticus Finch, a lawyer in 1930s Alabama tasked with defending Tom Robinson, a black man, against charges that he sexually assaulted a white woman. The novel, which explores the role of race in the South and American justice system, won a Pulitzer Prize and sold 40 million copies. It also became a hit movie in 1962 starring Gregory Peck.
Lee never published a second novel after “Mockingbird” and has not granted a public interview since 1960. Now 88, she lives in a nursing home in Monroeville, Alabama, the town on which she based “Mockingbird.”
When asked why “Mockingbird” became such an important book, former high school English teacher and popular author Wally Lamb said, “it’s the voice of the character Scout Finch, the adorably feisty child, and also the fact that it evokes emotions from us, not only laughter at some of Scout’s hijinks, but also anger at injustice.”
Warm up questions
- Have you read "To Kill a Mockingbird"?
- What do you expect from sequels of your favorite books?
Critical thinking questions
- Why do you think Lee never released a second novel?
- Why would HarperCollins want to publish the second novel now? Her first novel was published over 50 years ago; do you think that will affect how the book is received by the public?
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” raised important questions about racial relations in 1930s Alabama. How are lessons from that time period still applicable today?
- How do you think the relationship between Atticus and Scout will be different now that Scout is all grown up?
