'To Kill A Mockingbird' Author Harper Lee Is Publishing A Second Novel

[Chris]

Might be of interest to some.

'To Kill A Mockingbird' Author Harper Lee Is Publishing A Second Novel

Harper Lee, the author of the beloved novel To Kill a Mockingbird, will publish a second book this summer. Go Set a Watchman was completed in the 1950s, but set aside by the writer, who went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for the only novel she ever published.

Lee's publisher, Harper, issued a statement this morning, in which the author said:

I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told. I hadn’t realized it (the original book) had survived, 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.

...Go Set a Watchman, which will feature Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird as an adult woman, will publish on July 14.

[The Xl]

That's one hell of a hiatus

[PolWatch]

There have been rumors for years that she has been writing all along....she just wouldn't publish anything.

[Chris]

What's interesting is this was actually here first novel. Here she is explaining: SECOND HARPER LEE NOVEL TO BE PUBLISHED IN JULY:

"In the mid-1950s, I completed a novel called `Go Set a Watchman,'" the 88-year-old Lee said in a statement issued by Harper. "It features the character known as Scout as an adult woman, and I thought it a pretty decent effort. My editor, who was taken by the flashbacks to Scout's childhood, persuaded me to write a novel (what became `To Kill a Mockingbird') from the point of view of the young Scout.

"I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told. I hadn't realized it (the original book) had survived, 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."

[Common]

If I remember correctly Stephen king did the same thing. His first writings he didnt try to publish and after he became successful two were published.

I dont think this is as uncommon as you would think. Sometimes books sell because the name of the author on the cover not for their content.

[evince]

some don't seek fame and money as much as others do.


It will be a great read Im sure

[sachem]

Will anything stand up to To Kill a Mockingbird ?

[PolWatch]

Will anything stand up to To Kill a Mockingbird ?

I don't know how it could. I don't know if its still true but she & her sister were still living in the family home a few years ago....her sister was still practicing law in her 90's.

[Mister D]

I remember reading that the publisher asked her to make some changes to the story. I'll have to look around. I don't remember where I saw that.

[Chris]

Will anything stand up to To Kill a Mockingbird ?

Perhaps not. Salinger's last work I started to read and never finished, just wasn't the same as first discovering his work so many years ago.