Long-lost To Kill A Mockingbird sequel to be published
55 years after the release of her first and only novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee has announced plans to publish its sequel, Go Set A Watchman, which focuses on the adult life of Scout Finch. The book is set to be released on July 14 of this year.
Lee, 88, wrote Go Set A Watchman before she wrote To Kill A Mockingbird. The novel was set aside at the suggestion of Lee’s editor, who suggested that she write another novel from the perspective of a young Scout.
Go Set A Watchman follows Scout on her travels from New York back to Maycomb to visit her father, Atticus. A quote from the book’s publisher, Harper of HarperCollins, notes that the plot focuses on Scout attempting to “grapple with issues both personal and political as she tries to understand her father’s attitude toward society, and her own feelings about the place where she was born and spent her childhood.”
The manuscript of Go Set A Watchman was lost for nearly 50 years. Lee’s lawyer, Tonja B. Carter, discovered the text in the fall of 2014, at first assuming that it was an original copy of To Kill A Mockingbird.
“I was so stunned,” Carter said in an interview. “At the time, I didn’t [even] know if it was finished.”
The 304-page novel will be published as originally written, without revision or editing. The first printing is set to order two million copies. Lee, currently living in an assisted care facility following a 2007 stroke, is not expected to embark on a publicity tour for the novel.
The announcement of the new book’s release has sparked both excitement and controversy from fans and critics. Many, including Michael Moore and Oprah Winfrey, have spoken out in excited anticipation of the novel. Others, however, anticipate potential disappointment for fans, particularly in the unedited publishing of the text.
“We’re going to see what Harper Lee writes like without a strong editor’s hand, when she’s, quite honestly, an amateur,” Charles J. Shields, a Lee biographer, told The New York Times. “It’s going to be very interesting to see how original it is. A lot was taken from Go Set a Watchman for To Kill a Mockingbird, and maybe those are the best parts.”
Concerns have also been expressed about the timing of the novel’s release. Lee’s older sister, Alice, who had been handling her estate for many years, passed away in late 2014. In a letter written a few years prior to Marja Mills, a reporter and neighbour to Lee, Alice noted that her sister would “sign anything put before her by anyone in whom she has confidence.” Some speculate that Alice’s death left Lee vulnerable.
Carter told The New York Times that Lee is “extremely hurt” by these assertions.
“Lee is a very strong, independent, and wise woman who should be enjoying the discovery of her long-lost novel,” said Carter. “Instead, she is having to defend her own credibility and decision-making.”
Lee has expressed nothing but happiness as the publishing moves forward, noting in a statement that she is “alive and kicking and happy as hell with the reactions of Watchman.”