Since Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960, it has won a Pulitzer Prize, was adapted into a beloved 1962 film, sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, and has been taught in innumerable classrooms across America.
Fans of the story about young Scout and her family in the Depression-era South had all but given up on a follow-up from the notoriously reclusive author—until now. In February, Lee’s publisher announced a newly discovered manuscript by the author, Go Set a Watchman, would be published in July. The book—which focuses on a grown-up Scout’s return to her childhood town of Maycomb—immediately became a best-seller on Amazon.com.
While some are skeptical about the unedited manuscript, its impending release will likely be one of the most-talked about moments in American literary history. In this timely program, historian and biographer Charles J. Shields revisits the classic To Kill a Mockingbird and takes a closer look at the mysterious writer behind it.
Shields, the author of Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, the first book written about the author, focuses on his experience with writing Lee’s biography; the surprises he encountered along the way; and the parallels between To Kill a Mockingbird and Harper Lee’s life. He also discusses how Go Set a Watchman, of which he first became aware during his research, figures in Lee’s development as a writer and what its publication means for readers.
Other Connections
The news of Harper Lee’s “lost” manuscript stirred excitement and controversy when it broke. Neely Tucker of the Washington Post examines the back story of Go Set a Watchman, and program presenter Charles J. Shields is among the specialists interviewed on Lee’s rediscovered work.
