Harper Lee Is Releasing a Sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird


Harper Lee is best known for her 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, which by all distinctions is one of the most beautiful books ever written, and is in my all time favorites. The other thing she’s known for? To Kill a Mockingbird was her first published novel. And, more surprisingly, her only novel 50+ years later.

Until now. Last year a copy of her first written work, Go Set a Watchman, was discovered after widely being thought lost. It was written some time in the mid-1950s, and features an all grown up Scout, who travels back to Maycomb to visit Atticus. It was Harper’s editor that told her she should write a story about Scout as a child – which she did – which gave way to To Kill a Mockingbird.

Even more surprising than them finding her original work is that it won’t be changed or edited. Harper is confident in the material and will release it untouched come July 14th, 2015.

This is equal parts terrifying and magnificent. More Harper Lee! Who hasn’t secretly dreamt of what Scout and Jim and Atticus would be like 20 years later? But then, it’s worrisome because… What if it doesn’t hold up to the standard of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Either way, this is terribly exciting and relevant news for the literary community, and I’m dying to get my hands on it, and throw up a review. It’s already a best-selling book. Pre-orders on Amazon are going through the roof. The hardcover is currently 40% off. And check this out – it’s shot Harper Lee to Amazon’s top selling author:
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Pre-order now on Hardcover | eBook

For my recent review of To Kill a Mockingbird, click here. Just to note, it’s unabashed praise.

10 thoughts on “Harper Lee Is Releasing a Sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird

  1. Cosmic Coincidence Central at work again- just wrote the pages of my current comicbook dealing with TKAM – a secret organisation pitted against DISC and CIA and their “mockingbird” project to control the media. TKAM is staffed by people from the Dolphus Raymond Society- all of whom have false identities. Then I jump on here and read this. Synchronicity is always a sign you’re on the write track with your writing!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I’m a bit concerned about some of the collateral information being reported (or intimated) about the circumstances of this book’s release -Lee’s present mental state, the recent death of Lee’s older sister who’d been serving as guardian of her literary affairs. Quite possibly this is the release of a long-abandoned manuscript that the author never intended to publish.

    There was a cottage industry about 10-15 years back of releasing “lost” unfinished works of long-dead authors (Hemingway, Ellison); similarly, Mario Puzo and Michael Crichton continued to churn out incomplete novels for years after their deaths. Those works didn’t eactly add to the literary legacy of their late authors.

    All that said, and even if the worst whispers about Harper Lee’s saga are true… this is still a book I’m desperate to read, “Mockingbird” having been influential in my eventual career choice. And, of course, the mere fact that a publisher rejected it 60 years ago doesn’t mean it’s not a classic anyway. One would hope that “Watchman” is released with accompanying essays describing the historical context of the book, and why it’s being released so long after the author set it aside.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Yeah, I’ve definitely read enough of the skeptics to see there may be some level of truth to the claims. I hope the company didn’t take advantage of her state. I don’t think they did, regardless. They could’ve easily waited until she passed away to posthumously release it.

      Like

    2. Asimov syndrome… all those truly terrible “books” “co-written” by Asimov. Let’s just be sincerely grateful that the ruthlessness of PKD’s literary estate managers has forever nixed such “collaboration”…

      Liked by 1 person

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