harper lee biography history.com

• History & Society
• Science & Tech
• Biographies
• Animals & Nature
• Geography & Travel
• Arts & Culture
• Games & Quizzes
• On This Day
• One Good Fact
• New Articles
• Lifestyles & Social Issues
• Philosophy & Religion
• Politics, Law & Government
• World History
• Health & Medicine
• Browse Biographies
• Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates
• Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates
• Environment
• Fossils & Geologic Time
• Entertainment & Pop Culture
• Sports & Recreation
• Visual Arts
• Demystified
• Image Galleries
• Infographics
• Top Questions
• Britannica Kids
• Saving Earth
• Space Next 50
• Student Center

• What is To Kill a Mockingbird about?
• What inspired Harper Lee to write To Kill a Mockingbird ?
• How did people respond to To Kill a Mockingbird ?
• Why is To Kill a Mockingbird a significant text?
• Is there a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird ?

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

• Amercian Society of Authors and Writers - Biography of Harper Lee
• Medill Reports Chicago - Harper Lee (1926-2016): between classic and controversy
• NPR - The Measure of Harper Lee: A Life Shaped By A Towering Text
• Monroe County Museum - Harper Lee Timeline
• Literary Devices - Nelle Harper Lee
• Encyclopedia of Alabama - Biography of Harper Lee
• Harper Lee - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Why is Harper Lee significant?

Harper Lee wrote the novel To Kill a Mockingbird , which was published in 1960. Its powerful depiction of racism and prejudice in the American South is widely acclaimed. It has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.

Where did Harper Lee go to school?

Harper Lee studied law at the University of Alabama, but she did not receive a degree. She was also an exchange student at the University of Oxford.

What did Harper Lee write?

Harper Lee’s best-known book is the novel To Kill a Mockingbird , which was published in 1960. She wrote the novel Go Set a Watchman before To Kill a Mockingbird , but it was not published until 2015. She also wrote essays on Alabama history.

What awards did Harper Lee win?

Harper Lee received a Pulitzer Prize in 1961 for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird . She was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007.

Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926, Monroeville, Alabama, U.S.—died February 19, 2016, Monroeville) was an American writer nationally acclaimed for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).

Harper Lee’s father was Amasa Coleman Lee, a lawyer who by all accounts resembled the hero of her novel in his sound citizenship and warmheartedness. The plot of To Kill a Mockingbird is based in part on his unsuccessful youthful defense of two African American men convicted of murder. Lee studied law at the University of Alabama (spending a summer as an exchange student at the University of Oxford ), but she left for New York City without earning a degree. In New York she worked as an airline reservationist but soon received financial aid from friends that allowed her to write full-time. With the help of an editor, she transformed a series of short stories into To Kill a Mockingbird .

The novel is told predominately from the perspective of a young girl, Jean Louise (“Scout”) Finch (who ages from six to nine years old during the course of the novel), the daughter of white lawyer Atticus Finch , and occasionally from the retrospective adult voice of Jean Louise. Scout and her brother, Jem, learn the principles of racial justice and open-mindedness from their father, whose just and compassionate acts include an unpopular defense of a Black man falsely accused of raping a white girl. They also develop the courage and the strength to follow their convictions in their acquaintance and eventual friendship with a recluse, “Boo” Radley , who has been demonized by the community . To Kill a Mockingbird received a Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. Criticism of its tendency to sermonize has been matched by praise of its insight and stylistic effectiveness. It became a memorable film in 1962 . A Broadway play , adapted by Aaron Sorkin , appeared in 2018.

One character from the novel, Charles Baker (“Dill”) Harris, is based on Lee’s childhood friend and next door neighbour in Monroeville, Alabama, Truman Capote . When Capote traveled to Kansas in 1959 to cover the murders of the Clutter family for The New Yorker , Lee accompanied him as what he called his “assistant researchist.” She spent months with Capote interviewing townspeople, writing voluminous notes, sharing impressions, and later returning to Kansas for the trial of the accused—contributions Capote would later use in the composition of In Cold Blood . After the phenomenal success that followed the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird , some suspected that Capote was the actual author of Lee’s work, a rumour that was proven wrong when in 2006 a 1959 letter from Capote to his aunt was found, stating that he had read and liked the draft of To Kill a Mockingbird that Lee had shown him but making no mention of any role in writing it.

After a few years in New York, Lee divided her time between that city and her hometown, eventually settling back in Monroeville, Alabama. She also wrote a few short essays , including “Romance and High Adventure” (1983), devoted to Alabama history. Go Set a Watchman , written before To Kill a Mockingbird but essentially a sequel featuring Scout as a grown woman who returns to her childhood home in Alabama to visit her father, was released in 2015.

Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007.

• Catalog and Account Guide
• Ask a Librarian
• Website Feedback
• Log In / Register
• My Library Dashboard
• My Borrowing
• Checked Out
• Borrowing History
• ILL Requests
• My Collections
• For Later Shelf
• Completed Shelf
• In Progress Shelf
• My Settings

Harper Lee Biography

“Nelle” Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, the youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. She grew up in Monroeville, a small town in southwest Alabama. Her father was a lawyer who also served in the state legislature from 1926–1938. As a child, Lee was a tomboy and a precocious reader. After she attended public school in Monroeville she attended Huntingdon College, a private school for women in Montgomery for a year and then transferred to the University of Alabama. After graduation, Lee studied at Oxford University. She returned to the University of Alabama to study law but withdrew six months before graduation.

She moved to New York in 1949 and worked as a reservations clerk for Eastern Air Lines and British Overseas Airways. While in New York, she wrote several essays and short stories, but none were published. Her agent encouraged her to develop one short story into a novel. In order to complete it, Lee quit working and was supported by friends who believed in her work. In 1957, she submitted the manuscript to J. B. Lippincott Company. Although editors found the work too episodic, they saw promise in the book and encouraged Lee to rewrite it. In 1960, with the help of Lippincott editor Tay Hohoff, To Kill a Mockingbird was published.

To Kill a Mockingbird became an instant popular success. A year after the novel was published, 500,000 copies had been sold and it had been translated into 10 languages. Critical reviews of the novel were mixed. It was only after the success of the film adaptation in 1962 that many critics reconsidered To Kill a Mockingbird .

To Kill a Mockingbird was honored with many awards including the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961 and was made into a film in 1962 starring Gregory Peck. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It actually was honored with three awards: Gregory Peck won the Best Actor Award, Horton Foote won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar and a design team was awarded an Oscar for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration B/W. Lee worked as a consultant on the screenplay adaptation of the novel.

Author Truman Capote was Lee’s next-door neighbor from 1928 to 1933. In 1959 Lee and Capote traveled to Garden City, Kan., to research the Clutter family murders for his work, In Cold Blood (1965). Capote dedicated In Cold Blood to Lee and his partner Jack Dunphy. Lee was the inspiration for the character Idabel in Capote’s Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948). He in turn clearly influenced her character Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird .

Harper Lee divides her time between New York and her hometown of Monroeville, Ala., where her sister Alice Lee practices law. Though she has published no other work of fiction, this novel continues to have a strong impact on successive generations of readers.

Harper Lee had many childhood experiences that are similar to those of her young narrator in To Kill a Mockingbird , Scout Finch:

Harper Lee’s Childhood

• She grew up in the 1930s in a rural southern Alabama town.
• Her father, Amasa Lee, is an attorney who served in the state legislature in Alabama.
• Her older brother and young neighbor (Truman Capote) are playmates.
• Harper Lee is an avid reader as a child.
• She is 6 years old when the Scottsboro trials are widely covered in national, state and local newspapers.

Scout Finch’s Childhood

• Her father, Atticus Finch, is an attorney who served in the state legislature in Alabama.
• Her older brother (Jem) and young neighbor (Dill) are playmates.
• Scout reads before she enters school and reads the Mobile Register newspaper in first grade.
• She is 6 years old when the trial of Tom Robinson takes place.

Related Information

Powered by BiblioCommons.

BiblioWeb: webapp01 Version 4.21.0 Last updated 2024/08/07 09:22

Remembering the life and legacy of Harper Lee

PBS News Hour PBS News Hour

Leave your feedback

• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/remembering-the-life-and-legacy-of-harper-lee

Renowned author Harper Lee, whose debut novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” has become enshrined within the American literary canon, died early Friday morning at age 89. Jeffrey Brown sits down with bestselling novelist Allan Gurganus to discuss Lee’s works and enduring legacy.

Read the Full Transcript

Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

Finally tonight: the loss of a literary legend reclusive in life, but renowned for crafting one of the great American novels.

And to Jeffrey Brown.

JEFFREY BROWN:

Harper Lee was a little known writer living in New York when "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published in 1960. The book would win the Pulitzer Prize a year later, sell more than 30 million copies in 40 languages, and be read and loved by generations.

Its fame grew with the 1962 film version starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, father of the young narrator, Scout, and a lawyer in a segregated Alabama town who defends a black man against a rape charge.

In a 1964 radio interview, Lee said this about "Mockingbird"'s enormous success:

HARPER LEE, Novelist:

My reaction to it wasn't one of surprise. It was one of sheer numbness. It was like being hit over the head and knocked cold.

HARPER LEE:

I never expected that the book would sell in the first place.

But in the decades that followed, Lee did little or no talking. It was news when she went to the White House in 2007 to accept a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Instead, she lived quietly most of her life in the town of Monroeville, Alabama. And while readers waited, no other books came, until the surprise this past summer of "Go Set a Watchman," a book described as written before "Mockingbird," but only discovered and published 55 years later.

It drew more readers, mixed reviews, and many questions about the circumstances of its writing and publication.

Harper Lee died in her sleep last night. She was 89 years old.

And joining us now is novelist and short story writer Allan Gurganus. His books include "Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All," "Plays Well With Others," and most recently "Local Souls."

Allan, welcome to you.

What explains the popularity in the end of "To Kill a Mockingbird"?

ALLAN GURGANUS, Novelist:

I think it's a fable about the extraordinarily difficult subject of race that presents itself with charm and a kind of innocence that makes the investigation acceptable and beguiling.

I think the name Scout of the child is appropriate. She's our representative in this strange moral morass that she finds herself in. And I think she's spoken to a lot of people over the years.

And set in its particular time, when you think of both the historical qualities and for you, as a writer, its writing qualities.

ALLAN GURGANUS:

It's a book with a lot of precision, a lot of poetic passages about small-town life that rings completely true, as somebody who grew up in a small town.

But I think, ethically, the questions are strenuous and difficult and interesting. And that combination of giving us candy and salt at the same time has made the book so popular. It's also short, which is great for junior high school readers.

But it manages to pull heartstrings and ask big, big questions.

Not to be underemphasized, the length of a book sometimes, right?

What about Harper Lee the author?

No, and especially for young people.

What about Harper Lee the author and the sort of — the mythology of the — that came to surround her as writing this one book, all but disappearing, people waiting endlessly for another book?

I think she was a very shy, charming person used to living in a very small town, where everybody knew her, and the attention that she got when this novel came out and became a bestseller for 88 weeks was overwhelming.

She was also protecting her private life, her sexual life, which is a decision that I respect. And she just made a decision not to go public. I think the pressure of following a book that wins the Pulitzer Prize can't be overestimated.

And she was — I think had set out to write a book that mythologized her father, her actual lawyer father, in a way that met her own standards. He still spoke to her after she had written the book. And she was pleased with what she had done. And I think her mission was in some ways complete.

And then, of course, there's the "Go Set a Watchman," a very strange episode, many questions that came about, whether it was an early draft of "Mockingbird," whether she had agreed or should have agreed to its publication.

What, in the end, do you think that we should take from that?

I think every writer has two or three novels hidden away in drawers and closets that would ruin their literary reputation.

And for somebody to come in late in your game and public those with only half of your permission may be a smart move in terms of moneymaking, but it was a devastating blow to her reputation.

A lot of boys had been named Atticus, and people actually went to court to have their sons named changed when the Atticus in the second book turned out to be a conventional racist like the other people on the town council. So I think it was a mistake for her reputation.

But the singular book that she will be remembered for is the "Mockingbird."

(CROSSTALK)

Yes. I was going to say, so, briefly, the legacy really, you just think, should be defined by one this book, but what a book it was.

What a book it was.

And to think that it came out in 1960, just before the huge riots and the German shepherds and the fire hoses in the South, I think it taught white America how to think about race. And we needed an innocent child to lead us into that difficult and complex subject.

And it made the prophecy of what was coming palatable and easy to understand and digest. So, it served an extraordinary function, and it's to be remembered and treasured, I think.

Allan Gurganus on the life and work of Harper Lee, thank you so much.

Listen to this Segment

Watch the Full Episode

Support Provided By: Learn more

More Ways to Watch

Educate your inbox.

Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else.

Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm.

Advertisement

Supported by

Books of The Times | 'Mockingbird'

A Biography of Harper Lee, Author of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

• Share full article

By Janet Maslin

• June 8, 2006

In his introduction to the first book-length biography of Harper Lee, the elusive author of "To Kill a Mockingbird," Charles J. Shields tells the reader way too much about his research methods. He was determined to write this book even though Ms. Lee, who has been known to reply "Not just no, but hell no" to requests for interviews, wouldn't give him the time of day. So Mr. Shields had to be resourceful. He used the Internet to take the art of the cyberclip-job to bold new heights.

Mr. Shields, a former English teacher, says he "occasionally relied on unorthodox methods that were surprisingly effective." Translation: he faked his way onto an online school reunion site to contact Ms. Lee's classmates. He obtained a large amount of contact information for University of Alabama alumni and mass-mailed 300 in a single day. He let Google do the walking when it came to library research. And he e-mailed himself a hundred newspaper articles, courtesy of the online database of the University of Virginia.

He then went on to do actual legwork. But "Mockingbird" begins on a facile, slightly desperate note. "It started to snow in the Northeast at about dawn on March 3, 1960," Mr. Shields begins. How does he know? In the back of the book is the source for this observation: a Wall Street Journal article headlined "Severe Snowstorm Hits East, Stalls Traffic, Shuts Schools; Many Firms Close Early." Although Mr. Shields pads his book with similar minutiae (in 1949 there were 630,000 manholes in New York City), he also prompts some sympathy. After all, as his bibliography reveals, he had precious little else to go on. All he drew on were histories of the South, critical "Mockingbird" studies and material about Truman Capote, whose friendship with Ms. Lee was as catty as it was intense.

"I think it very undignified for any serious artist to allow themselves to be exploited in this fashion," Capote sniffed. He said he was appalled by the crass spectacle of Ms. Lee helping to promote the Oscar-winning film version of her instant-classic novel.

But she seems to have agreed with him. Unmanageable success made her determined to vanish, which is one more reason Mr. Shields has set himself a tough job. It is all he can do to come up with answers to the three most frequently asked questions about Ms. Lee: Is she dead? Is she gay? What ever happened to Book No. 2?

No, none of your business and none of your business: those are the best answers at which "Mockingbird" arrives. But it fares better at filling in the basic details of Ms. Lee's life, from the reason Nelle Harper Lee didn't use her first name in print (she didn't want "Nelle" pronounced as "Nellie") to the genesis of her novel and its characters. Even though he never gets close to the flinty Ms. Lee, Mr. Shields constructs a worthwhile portrait of the artist.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

• History Classics
• Your Profile
• Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
• This Day In History
• History Podcasts
• History Vault

This Day In History : July 11

Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows

“To Kill a Mockingbird” published

On July 11, 1960, the 34-year-old novelist Nelle Harper Lee publishes her first novel, To Kill a Mockingbird .

Set in Maycomb, a small Alabama town much like Lee’s native Monroeville, To Kill a Mockingbird is populated with indelible characters, including the book's tomboy narrator, Jean Louise Finch (known as “Scout”), the mysterious recluse Boo Radley and Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, an upstanding lawyer who defends a Black man accused of raping a white woman. Now a staple of junior high and high school classrooms and the subject of numerous censorship efforts , it offers a vivid depiction of life in the Jim Crow South during the Great Depression .

By the mid-1950s, Lee had followed her dreams of a writing career to New York City, where her childhood friend Truman Capote had already won fame in literary circles. For Christmas in 1956, her good friends Michael and Joy Brown gave her a check equal to a year’s salary, so she could quit her job and devote more time to her writing.

Soon, Lee had produced a novel manuscript, titled Go Set a Watchman , which she was able to sell to the publisher J.B. Lippincott and Company for $1,000 after her editor, Tay Hohoff, suggested she revise the story and expand on flashback sequences set during the narrator’s childhood. Lee spent two years rewriting her book, calling the revised manuscript To Kill a Mockingbird. (She dropped her first name for publication, in order to avoid people mispronouncing it “Nellie.”)

Lee’s book became an immediate success, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961 and eventually selling more than 40 million copies worldwide. Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his portrayal of Atticus in the 1962 film version, which also nabbed statuettes for screenwriting and art direction.

But the famously private Lee didn’t come out with a follow-up; in fact, she wouldn’t publish another book for 55 years. Then in 2015, HarperCollins published  the rediscovered Go Set a Watchman. The book is set 20 years after the time period depicted in  Mockingbird  and features an aging Atticus who has embraced racist views and even attends a meeting of the Ku Klux Klan . Despite seriously mixed reviews, and doubts surrounding whether Lee actually wanted it published, the book was a huge hit, selling 1.1 million copies in its first week. The following year, Harper Lee died in Monroeville, at the age of 89. 

Also on This Day in History July | 11

Members of the Niagara Movement meet for the first time

This Day in History Video: What Happened on July 11

U.S. establishes diplomatic relations with Vietnam

Skylab crashes to earth, aaron burr slays alexander hamilton in duel, hitler is paid a visit by his would‑be assassin.

Wake Up to This Day in History

Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Get all of today's events in just one email featuring a range of topics.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Networks. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details : Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | Contact Us

Babe Ruth makes MLB debut

John quincy adams is born, gas fire incinerates crowded campsite, killing hundreds, soviets agree to cede power in sectors of allied‑controlled berlin, union notches a victory at the battle of rich mountain, british evacuate savannah, georgia.

Sign Up Today

Start your 14 day free trial today

History Hit Story of England: Making of a Nation

10 Facts About Harper Lee

21 Jul 2023

American novelist Harper Lee became a literary icon with the success of her Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece To Kill A Mockingbird .

This timeless work has had a lasting impact on literature, addressing themes of racial injustice, moral growth, and empathy. Drawing inspiration from her own experiences and observations during her formative years in the racially charged South, Lee’s narrative continues to resonate with readers from all walks of life.

Despite the novel’s critical acclaim, the notoriously witty Lee chose to avoid the limelight, making her a mysterious figure. Here we explore 10 facts about this enigmatic author.

1. Her full name was Nelle Harper Lee

Nelle Harper Lee, known as Harper Lee, was born on 28 April 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama, the youngest of 4 children. Her mother was Frances Cunningham Finch Lee, and her father, Amasa Coleman Lee was a lawyer and newspaper editor. (Through her father, she was distantly related to Confederate General Robert E Lee.)

Nelle was her grandmother’s name, Ellen , spelled backward. When pursuing her writing career, Harper Lee dropped her first name as she didn’t want people misprinting or mispronouncing it as “Nellie”.

2. She was friends with Truman Capote

Lee shared a close and lasting friendship with Truman Capote , the acclaimed author of In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The two had been childhood friends in Monroeville, and Lee protected Capote from neighbourhood bullies. In the 1930s, Lee’s father defended two African American men accused of murdering a white storekeeper, and Capote accompanied Lee to the trials. (Both clients, a father and son, were later hanged.) These experiences greatly influenced Lee and Capote’s literary works.

Capote served as the inspiration for the character of Dill in Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird – similarly, Capote also used Lee as an inspiration for the character Idabel Tompkins in his debut novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms .

Their friendship endured for decades, and Lee even assisted Capote with research for his novel In Cold Blood , accompanying him to Kansas several times to help his investigative work surrounding the Clutter family murders . In 1960, Lee wrote her own account of the crime, which formed the centrepiece of Capote’s book, and also profiled the investigator of the case for Grapevine , though without a byline to avoid detracting from her friend’s work. Their relationship soured after Capote didn’t credit Lee to her liking.

3. Lee quit law to pursue writing

Initially Lee intended to follow in her father’s footsteps and practice law, attending law school at the University of Alabama. However, her love for British literature sparked a half-jovial desire to be “the Jane Austen of South Alabama”. After attending Oxford University in the summer of 1948 as an exchange student studying 20th century literature, Lee’s affection for literature deepened.

Six months before she was due to graduate, Lee quit law school and moved to New York in 1949 to pursue her dream of becoming a writer.

4. She worked as an airline ticket clerk while writing her first novel

Lee worked on her draft manuscript amongst other projects while supporting herself as a ticket reservation agent for Eastern Air Lines and British Overseas Airways.

After publishing several long stories, Lee found an agent, Maurice Crain, in November 1956. Incredibly supportive of her writing endeavours, her friends Michael and Joy Brown later gifted her a year’s wages as a Christmas present – giving Lee the opportunity to dedicate herself fully to writing.

First-edition cover of To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) by the American author Harper Lee.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Jacket design by Shirley Smith / Public Domain

5. Her most famous work is To Kill a Mockingbird

Published on 11 July 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird was an immediate bestseller.

Harper Lee’s writing was heavily influenced by her childhood experiences in Monroeville, where she witnessed economic hardships and racial tensions during the Great Depression which deeply influenced her understanding of social inequality. The town served as the inspiration for the fictional town of Maycomb in her novel, as did her shared childhood adventures with Truman Capote, which inspired the camaraderie portrayed between characters Scout, Jem, and Dill.

Lee’s empathy and keen observational skills also enabled her to craft authentic and multi-dimensional characters who resonated with readers from diverse backgrounds.

Another significant influence on Lee was her high school English teacher, Gladys Watson, who had introduced Lee to British literature. Just before sending the final draft of To Kill a Mockingbird to her publishers, Lee sought Watson’s feedback. To thank her, Lee later flew Watson to New York for a visit and took her on a month-long trip to England.

6. To Kill a Mockingbird addressed racial issues in Alabama in the 1930s

To Kill a Mockingbird instantly became a literary classic, exploring themes of racial injustice and moral growth in the American South. Inspired by Harper Lee’s childhood observations of her father’s principled stand during the racially charged trial in Monroeville, the iconic character of Atticus Finch – a principled lawyer defending a black man accused of raping a white woman – became a symbol of integrity and social justice.

The book’s publication in 1960 also coincided with the height of the Civil Rights Movement , making its portrayal of racial injustice especially poignant. It struck a chord with the public, fostering empathy and understanding among people of different backgrounds, and emphasising the significance of tolerance and compassion in society. The novel also contributed to discussions on civil rights, racial equality, and the need for social change, solidifying Lee as one of America’s most influential literary figures.

7. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the best-selling books of all time, despite complaints

Lee’s novel sold over 40 million copies worldwide and received widespread critical acclaim, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961.

Its compelling portrayal of childhood, moral dilemmas, and social issues made the book a staple in school curriculums. Its success was further amplified through the 1962 film adaptation, which also received critical acclaim and won 3 Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Gregory Peck, who portrayed Atticus Finch.

Whilst the book quickly became a literary classic, it repeatedly received complaints regarding its language and subject matter. In 1966, it was even banned by the Hanover Country School Board in Richmond, Virginia, who described it as “immoral literature”, although they later reversed their decision.

Harper Lee received numerous other accolades and honours. She was also presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2007 for her contribution to literature, and in 2010, was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama .

Harper Lee being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush, 5 November 2007

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / White House photo by Eric Draper / Public Domain

8. She avoided the public eye

Whilst her novel propelled her to fame, Lee avoided the limelight and led a private and frugal life, seldom making public appearances or giving interviews which added to her mystique.

While living part-time in New York City for 40 years, Lee became an avid fan of the Mets baseball team. Even after returning to Monroeville, she continued to visit New York City to attend games and visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art . Lee was also an avid golfer, once saying that she did her best creative thinking while playing golf.

9. Harper Lee’s second book was published when she was aged 89

It was assumed that To Kill a Mockingbird would be Lee’s only published novel – indeed for 55 years Lee maintained that she would never write another book, and although she had worked on other manuscripts and a second novel, nothing was released.

However, readers were shocked when HarperCollins announced Lee had agreed to publish her to rework her earlier draft of To Kill a Mockingbird – Go Set a Watchman (that featured the same characters but in later life) in 2015.

It caused a sensation, becoming an instant bestseller, yet its release was highly controversial, not only regarding its depiction of Atticus Finch as a racist, but around the circumstances of its publication. Questions were raised over whether Lee genuinely consented to its publication or if she had been coerced (due to her increasing physical and mental frailty). While Lee’s lawyer claimed she had approved publication, many of her friends disputed this.

10. She was one of the most influential and celebrated authors of the 20th century

Harper Lee died aged 89 on 19 February 2016, although her timeless novel remains a cornerstone of American literature, captivating and inspiring readers worldwide.

The book’s powerful narrative addressing racial injustice and moral courage continues to resonate, influencing numerous writers, activists, and readers, and sparking crucial conversations on race, empathy, and social issues. The character of Atticus Finch has also become an emblem of moral integrity and social justice, motivating generations to take a stand against injustice.

You May Also Like

The Tale of Beatrix Potter: 10 Facts About The Iconic Illustrator & Children’s Author

Beyond Narnia: The Enduring Legacy of C.S. Lewis

Margaret J. Winkler: A Forgotten Pioneer in Disney’s Success

Audrey Hepburn: From War-Torn Childhood to Hollywood Icon

How Did Barbie Become an Icon?

The Real Story Behind ‘In Cold Blood’: Truman Capote’s True Crime Masterpiece

The Life and Times of Truman Capote: 10 Facts About the Literary Icon

Fanny Mendelssohn: A Musical Prodigy and Forgotten Legacy

Anne Brontë: The Forgotten Sister Who Made a Mark on Victorian Literature

Why Was Charlie Chaplin Investigated by the FBI?

10 Facts About Mary Shelley: The Woman Behind Frankenstein

Revisiting Cleopatra: Screen Portrayals of the Iconic Pharaoh

6 Fascinating Facts About Harper Lee

After Mockingbird , Lee started on other projects, but, to the disappointment of her many readers, no other books came out. So when a copy of Go Set a Watchman was rediscovered, Lee's first novel got a second chance when it was published 2015. The book, which is set in the 1950s and features a grown-up Scout and an older Atticus Finch.

Here are six interesting facts about this iconic author:

There are discrepancies if Lee actually wanted 'Watchman' published

Lee, who suffered a stroke in 2007, has ongoing health issues that include hearing loss, limited vision and problems with her short-term memory. All this made some wonder whether the author truly wanted to publish Go Set a Watchman , as for years she'd been happy without putting out another book.

In February 2015, Lee issued a statement that said: "I’m alive and kicking and happy as hell with the reactions to Watchman ." But even that message didn't put an end to questions. In a 2011 letter, Lee's sister Alice had written that Lee would "sign anything put before her by anyone in whom she has confidence." In addition, according to a July 2, 2015, article in The New York Times , her manuscript may have been discovered in 2011, not in 2014 as Lee's lawyer has claimed.

However, others who've met with Lee have stated that she's behind the decision to publish. Alabama officials investigated and found no evidence that she was a victim of coercion. And when Lee first submitted Go Set a Watchman in the 1950s, it was with the hope of seeing it released.

Lee made millions every year from 'Mockingbird'

When To Kill a Mockingbird was first published in 1960, it quickly won over the public. The novel hit bestseller lists back then, and its sales have remained impressive over the years. Today, more than 40 million copies have been sold, and the book has also been translated into more than 40 languages.

This popularity led to an impressive income for Lee. Court papers from a 2012 lawsuit show that the author still receives about $3 million in royalties from Mockingbird every year (the lawsuit, which alleged that Lee's former agent had tricked her into assigning him the copyright for Mockingbird , was settled in 2013). With money like that coming in, Lee never had a financial need to publish again.

She led a simple life

Lee may have become a multimillionaire thanks to Mockingbird , but the money didn’t change her lifestyle. She had a modest apartment in New York City and got around by bus while in town. When she returned to her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama (traveling by train), Lee lived in a one-story ranch house with her sister Alice. Clothes shopping there was usually done at Walmart or a Vanity Fair outlet, and Lee traveled to the laundromat in the next town when she needed something clean to wear.

So what did Lee do with her money? She did like to visit casinos — but rather than playing for high stakes, she spent time at the quarter slots. In fact, Lee used much of her wealth for charitable causes, such as funding educational opportunities (true to her publicity-averse nature, this was done anonymously).

Even when Lee had to move into an assisted living facility following her 2007 stroke, her unadorned tastes meant that she still had access to what was important to her. Alice once said about Lee, "Books are the things she cares about." With the assistance of a magnifying device — necessary due to her macular degeneration — Lee was able to keep reading.

Her real name is Nelle

Harper Lee’s full name is Nelle Harper Lee (she was named in honor of a grandmother called Ellen; Nelle is Ellen spelled backwards) and she grew up using the name Nelle.

So why was To Kill a Mockingbird credited to Harper Lee, instead of Nelle Lee or Nelle Harper Lee? Apparently, Lee didn’t want to take the chance that people might mistake the name Nelle for Nellie. Therefore her debut novel was authored by Harper Lee — and now her follow-up novel is coming out under the same name.

Lee and Truman Capote were childhood friends and there were rumors he wrote 'Mockingbird'

In the years following To Kill a Mockingbird 's release, a rumor began that Lee's longtime friend Truman Capote was the true mind behind the novel. After all, Capote was a successful author who'd written Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and In Cold Blood (1966), while Lee didn't publish another book after Mockingbird .

To be clear, Capote was not the creator of Mockingbird . For one thing, the novel has a literary voice that's completely different from his. And in 1959, Capote wrote a letter that mentioned he'd read Lee's book — but didn't say anything about having written or edited the work. Lastly, Capote simply wasn't the kind of person who shied away from taking credit for noteworthy accomplishments.

However, Capote did little to dispel the rumors while he was alive, perhaps because he was envious of his old friend's success: Lee had been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Mockingbird , while Capote had hoped to win one for In Cold Blood (a project Lee did significant work for), but wasn't successful.

READ MORE: Harper Lee and Truman Capote Were Childhood Friends Until Jealously Tore Them Apart

Despite what many thought, Lee was not a recluse

While it's true that Lee prefers a quiet life outside of the spotlight — her last major interview was given in 1964 — the author never minded being around people. In New York City, she would visit museums, the theater and go to baseball games (she was a Mets fan). In Alabama, she ate out (David's Catfish House was a regular haunt), joined friends for fishing excursions and attended an exercise class held at Monroeville's Community House.

Though Lee didn't read a lot of contemporary fiction, she did enjoy J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series (according to Marja Mills, who wrote a memoir about her friendship with the author). Lee was also happy to join Oprah Winfrey for a lunch at the Four Seasons. Winfrey's interview request was turned down, but the two still had fun together, with Winfrey noting, "We were like instant girlfriends. It was just wonderful, and I loved being with her."

Watch Next .css-16toot1:after{background-color:#262626;color:#fff;margin-left:1.8rem;margin-top:1.25rem;width:1.5rem;height:0.063rem;content:'';display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;}

Famous Authors & Writers

A Huge Shakespeare Mystery, Solved

Shakespeare Wrote 3 Tragedies in Turbulent Times

The Mystery of Shakespeare's Life and Death

Was Shakespeare the Real Author of His Plays?

20 Shakespeare Quotes

William Shakespeare

The Ultimate William Shakespeare Study Guide

Suzanne Collins

Alice Munro

Agatha Christie

• Harper Lee Before <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>

Harper Lee Before To Kill a Mockingbird

H ere’s the thing, and it is not a small thing: Harper Lee was a smart, funny, happy woman. She used to like to play golf, spend time with friends in Monroeville, entertain visitors in New York City. To her friends and family, she was always Nelle.

She was not the first famous Lee from the South, of course, and it is fascinating that she was in fact related to Robert E. Lee. Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama, to Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Her father, a lawyer and the model for Atticus Finch in the novel, had been born in Butler Country in 1880 and after he married Frances, the couple moved to Monroeville in 1912. There he was a supremely respected man and, in fact, served in the Alabama state legislature for a dozen years, from 1927 to 1939. As said earlier, he once defended two black men accused of killing a white storekeeper; both men were eventually convicted and hanged. Clearly this family remembrance made an impression on young Nelle.

But to emphasize: Hers was a mostly comfortable and congenial upbringing, far less strange than that of Scout Finch, not to mention that of Boo Radley.

Named, sort of, after one of her grandmothers (“Nelle” is “Ellen” backwards), she was the family’s youngest child and finally would survive brother Edwin (who died in 1951), sister Louise (who died in 2009) and sister Alice, who became a lawyer, took over their father’s practice and died in 2014.

Nelle would never marry, but she always had a passel of friends and admirers. In 1944 and ’45, she attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, and then switched to the University of Alabama, where she explored her burgeoning interest in writing (nurtured in high school) and her father’s interest in law. She would spend time as an exchange student at Oxford in England, and would spend other time contributing to Bama’s humor magazine Rammer-Jammer. She would, by 1949, land in New York City. There is nothing unusual about this smart young woman’s profile. Her arc was that of an achiever.

She had a particular pal in her youth, and this fact will always fascinate. The boy named Truman Streckfus Persons had moved to Monroeville in 1928 to live with his aunts, whose house was right over the stone wall from the Lees’ property. Nelle and Truman became close friends; much later, she would become commemorated as a character in his novel Other Voices, Other Rooms, and he, now named Truman Capote, would be, as already noted, immortalized as Dill in Mockingbird. They stayed in touch after moving on from Monroeville. Both continued to write—to each other, and then for millions of others.

In New York, Lee worked as a reservation clerk for Eastern Air Lines and British Overseas Airways. During the 1950s, she worked on Go Set a Watchman, which could not find a publisher. She then went to work on To Kill a Mockingbird, and in 1957 signed a deal and embarked upon a two-year process of rewriting and refining.

Affairs get interesting here. On November 16, 1959, The New York Times ran a brief account of a crime in Kansas—“a wealthy wheat farmer, his wife and their two young children were found shot to death today in their home . . .”—that caught the attention of Capote. He determined to go to the Midwest and investigate; the fruits of his labors would be his ground-breaking 1966 book, In Cold Blood. As he set out on his grand enterprise, he realized that no one was better suited to help him interview the heartland natives than his empathetic-to-the-core friend from Monroeville, Nelle. And so, even on the verge of her own triumph in literature, she was recruited and went to Kansas with Capote. He would later tell George Plimpton for a New York Times Book Review piece that Lee was always, and in this instance certainly proved herself to be in spades, “a gifted woman, courageous, and with a warmth that instantly kindles most people, how- ever suspicious or dour.”

Because—until the publication of Watchman in 2015—Harper Lee had allowed her reputation to rest on one book alone, there had always been suspicion that the book was something other than a miracle. Because, also, Truman Capote was her devoted friend, there has always been a theory out there that he had something to do with the writing of Mockingbird. Such notions are nonsense, and the words of Capote himself—“I liked it [ To Kill a Mockingbird ] very much. She has real talent.”—say as much. Capote, of all people, would never have had any problem at all taking credit where credit was due, and he never really took any credit for his friend’s masterwork. So, in the Lee biography, there will always be that fascinating Capote interlude. (And what town can claim more scribbling geniuses per capita than Monroeville, Alabama?)

But to return to the biographical sketch: Lee wrote her novel. It quickly became the phenomenon it remains. And then she wrote no more.

Well, not quite true. In the early 1960s, with her first blush of fame still rosy, she wrote a couple of homey articles for McCall’s magazine and Vogue.

And then she pretty much stopped writing for the public, as the awards—the Pulitzer (first woman recipient for literature since 1942); the Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews; scores of others—and royalty checks regularly arrived in the mail. In its first two decades, the novel would be translated globally and would sell millions of copies. By now, it has sold more than 40 million.

Nelle Harper Lee’s world was one thing before 1960, then—especially after the film— it was something other. But she kept it as relatively the same, and as sane, as she could.

Read more in LIFE’s new special edition, The Enduring Legacy of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird , available on Amazon .

More Must-Reads from TIME

• Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
• What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
• How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
• The Reintroduction of Kamala Harris
• Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
• How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
• What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
• The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024

Contact us at [email protected]

• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Literature Notes
• Harper Lee Biography
• To Kill a Mockingbird at a Glance
• Book Summary
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Part 1: Chapter 1
• Part 1: Chapters 2-3
• Part 1: Chapters 4-5
• Part 1: Chapters 6-7
• Part 1: Chapters 8-9
• Part 1: Chapters 10-11
• Part 2: Chapters 12-13
• Part 2: Chapters 14-16
• Part 2: Chapters 17-20
• Part 2: Chapters 21-23
• Part 2: Chapters 24-26
• Part 2: Chapters 27-28
• Part 2: Chapters 29-31
• Character Analysis
• Scout (Jean Louise) Finch
• Atticus Finch
• Dill Harris
• Boo Radley and Tom Robinson
• Aunt Alexandra and Miss Maudie Atkinson
• Bob and Mayella Ewell
• Character Map
• About To Kill a Mockingbird
• Critical Essays
• Racial Relations in the Southern United States
• Comparing To Kill a Mockingbird to Its Movie Version
• Famous Quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird
• Film Versions of To Kill a Mockingbird
• Full Glossary for To Kill a Mockingbird
• Essay Questions
• Practice Projects
• Cite this Literature Note

The youngest daughter of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee, Nelle Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama (a small town in Monroe County between Montgomery and Mobile) on April 28, 1926. Lee was raised with two sisters, Alice and Louise, and a brother, Edwin Coleman Lee. Both her sisters are still living, but her brother died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage in 1951.

Amasa Lee grew up in Florida and came to Monroe County in the early 1900s. He worked as a bookkeeper until 1915, when he passed the bar and began practicing law. Mr. Lee also served on the Alabama State Legislature from 1926 to 1938, and as editor of  The Monroe Journal  from 1929 to 1947.

Frances Finch was from a Virginia family who settled in Monroe County, Alabama, and founded the town of Finchburg. Miss Finch met Mr. Lee while he was working at the Flat Creek Mill Company in Finchburg; they married in 1912. The couple lived briefly in Florida, returning to live in Monroe County in 1913.

By all accounts, Harper Lee is friendly and gregarious with those she knows, but has always been an extremely private person, disclosing little about her life to the public. Consequently, most of the information available about Lee's childhood comes from friends and is largely anecdotal. Because the character of Scout is somewhat autobiographical, readers gain their best access to Lee's childhood — or at least the flavor of her childhood — within the pages of To Kill a Mockingbird .

In 1944, at the age of 18, Harper Lee enrolled in Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. From 1945 to 1949 she studied law at the University of Alabama. She transferred to Oxford University in England as an exchange student for a year, but six months before completing her studies, Lee decided to go to New York to be a writer.

While pursuing the career that would ultimately produce To Kill a Mockingbird , Lee worked briefly in the early 1950s as a reservations clerk for Eastern Airlines and BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corp.) in New York City. In 1957, she submitted a manuscript to the J. B. Lippincott Company, who felt that her attempt at a novel was actually more of a series of strung-together short stories. The publisher recommended a rewrite, so Lee spent the next two-and-a-half years working on the manuscript. Her efforts paid off, and To Kill a Mockingbird , her first and only novel, was published in 1960.

Many aspects of To Kill a Mockingbird are autobiographical. Monroeville served as the model for Maycomb, and Lee was dubbed "Queen of the Tomboys" by at least one friend; Lee gave all three of her mother's names to various characters in the novel. There is at least anecdotal evidence that Boo Radley was based on an actual neighbor. Finally, Lee has stated that Atticus Finch was based largely on her own father.

To Kill a Mockingbird was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1961, and was made into a major motion picture starring Gregory Peck in 1962. Lee was so impressed with Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch that she gave him her father's pocket watch at the end of the movie's filming.

In the early 1960s, shortly after publication of To Kill a Mockingbird , Harper Lee accompanied her childhood friend Truman Capote — the basis for the Dill Harris character — to Holcomb, Kansas, and served as a research assistant for Capote's 1966 novel, In Cold Blood .

Lee also published three articles in the '60s: "Love — In Other Words" in Vogue (1961), "Christmas to Me" in McCall's (1961), and "When Children Discover America" in McCall's (1965) . President Lyndon Johnson named Lee to the National Council of Arts in 1966. She has received several honorary doctorates, including one from the University of Alabama and another from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. She attended both ceremonies, but spoke at neither and gave no interviews.

In 1998, the Harper Lee Award for a Distinguished Alabama Writer was unveiled by the executive committee of the Alabama Writers' Forum. This award recognizes an accomplished writer who was born in the state or who lived in Alabama during his or her formative years.

Never married, Lee continued to divide her time between New York and Monroeville, where she lived with her sister Alice. Known for her wit and charm, Lee granted only a handful of interviews since To Kill a Mockingbird' s publication. Her family and friends remained protective of her privacy.

Lee died in 2016 at the age of 89.

Previous About To Kill a Mockingbird

Next Racial Relations in the Southern United States

Nelle Harper Lee 

Struggling life, some important facts of her life, writing career, harper lee’s major works, harper lee’s impact on future literature, famous quotes, related posts:, post navigation.

Harper Lee Biography

Author of the bestseller-turned-Oscar-winning film To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), she won a Pulitzer for the novel in 1961. The story includes many of her childhood experiences with her brother and her childhood friend Truman Capote, and has become a recognized classic. In 1962, it was made into a film starring Gregory Peck , who won an Oscar for his portrayal of the defense lawyer Atticus Finch, and featured Robert Duvall in one of his first notable parts.

Here are the facts and trivia that people are buzzing about.

Biography of Harper Lee

Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 to Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Harper Lee grew up in the small southwestern town of Monroeville in Alabama. Her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, was a lawyer who also served on the state legislature (1926-38). As a child, Lee was a tomboy and a precocious reader, and she enjoyed the friendship of her schoolmate and neighbor, the young Truman Capote, who provided the basis of the character of Dill in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird .

Lee was only five years old in when, in April 1931 in the small town of Scottsboro in Alabama, the first trials began with regard to the purported rapes of two white women by nine young black men. The defendants, who were nearly lynched before being brought to court, were not provided with the services of a lawyer until the first day of trial. Despite medical testimony that the women had not been raped, the all-white jury found the men guilty of the crime and sentenced all but the youngest, a twelve-year-old boy, to death. Six years of subsequent trials saw most of these convictions repealed and all but one of the men freed or paroled. The Scottsboro case left a deep impression on the young Lee, who would use it later as the rough basis for the events in To Kill a Mockingbird .

Lee studied first at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama (1944-45), and then pursued a law degree at the University of Alabama (1945-49), spending one year abroad at Oxford University. She worked as a reservation clerk for Eastern Airlines in New York City until the late 1950s, when she resolved to devote herself to writing. Lee lived a frugal lifestyle, traveling between her cold-water-only apartment in New York to her family home in Alabama to care for her ailing father. In addition, she worked in Holcombe, Kansas as a research assistant for Truman Capote's novel In Cold Blood in 1959. Ever since the first days of their childhood friendship, Capote and Lee remained close friends.

Lee published her first novel, To Kill a Mockingbird , in 1960 after a two-year period of revising and rewriting under the guidance of her editor, Tay Hohoff, of the J. B. Lippincott Company. To Kill a Mockingbird won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize despite mixed critical reviews. The novel was highly popular, selling more than fifteen million copies. Though in composing the novel she delved into her own experiences as a child in Monroeville, Lee intended for the book to impart the sense of any small town in the Deep South, as well as the universal characteristics of human beings. The book was made into a successful movie in 1962, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus.

President Johnson named Lee to the National Council of Arts in June 1966, and since then she has received numerous honorary doctorates. She continues to live in New York and Monroeville but prefers a relatively private existence, granting few interviews and giving few speeches. She has published only a few short essays since her debut: "Love--In Other Words" in Vogue , 1961; "Christmas to Me" in McCall's , 1961; and "When Children Discover America" in McCall's , 1965.

Lee died on February 19, 2016.

Study Guides on Works by Harper Lee

Go set a watchman harper lee.

Go Set a Watchman is Harper Lee's second published novel, after her award-winning To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960. Although there are some striking differences between Lee's two novels in terms of style and content, the continuity...

• Study Guide
• Lesson Plan

To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee

Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird during a very tense time racially in her home state of Alabama. The South was still segregated, forcing blacks to use separate facilities apart from those used by whites, in almost every aspect of society....