Harper Lee

Born: April 28, 1926 Monroeville, Alabama Youngest of 4 children A recluse Still alive at age 89 and living in Monroeville.

Harper Lee Her father, Amasa Coleman Lee was a descendant of General Robert E. Lee. He was a lawyer for the Alabama State Legislature. Her mother was rarely ever seen, and it is believed she suffered from bipolar disease. Her name was Francis Cunningham Finch and Harper uses all 3 names as characters in her novel.

Harper Lee Childhood: Her full name is Nelle Harper Lee. She was named for her grandmother whose name is spelled backward. Harper was a tomboy like the main character in her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Her childhood friend was Truman Capote. He grew up to become a very famous writer also.

Harper Lee Harper and Truman’s Relationship Harper was stronger than most boys her age and protected her friend, Truman. Truman was picked on for being a sissy and wearing fancy clothes. Things in common: difficult home life. Truman lived with his relatives when he was abandoned by his own parents.

Harper Lee In 1959, Harper went to Kansas to help Truman research his novel, In Cold Blood. Credited with creating the non-fiction novel with this book. Clutter family murder in Kansas.

Harper Lee Inspiration for the Novel Her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama Her father’s law career and unsuccessful defense of a black man and his son accused of murder. The ongoing Scottsboro Trials Her friend, Truman Capote

She first called this novel “Atticus” Atticus Finch is the father and lawyer in the novel. He is named after Titus Pomponius Atticus, a friend of the Roman orator Cicero who was “a wise, learned and humane man” according to Lee. ATTICUSATTICUS REAL ACTOR

Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird is her first and only novel. It was on the bestseller list for 88 weeks. A shocking revelation rocked the literary world in 2014! Harper Lee wrote a book BEFORE To Kill A Mockingbird called Go Set A Watchman. It was published in July of 2015.

Harper Lee

“Originally written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers before To Kill a Mockingbird. Assumed to have been lost, the manuscript was discovered in late Go Set a Watchman features many of the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird some twenty years later. Returning home to Maycomb to visit her father, Jean Louise Finch—Scout—struggles with issues both personal and political, involving Atticus, society, and the small Alabama town that shaped her.” (excerpt from Harper Collins publishers)

Harper Lee Lee received the Pulitzer Prize for To Kill A Mockingbird which was her first published book. This is huge! She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007 for her outstanding contribution to literature!