Connor Sheets wrote, “Harper Lee, who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961 for her book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” died in her sleep Feb. 19 in her home of Monroeville, AL. She was 89. “To Kill a Mockingbird,” published in 1960, won Lee the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and its film adaptation captured four academy awards. The novel continues to be studied by high school and college students. It has sold more than 30 million copies.”
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Harper Lee
Ten days ago Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, passed away at the age of 89. In my opinion, the world lost a great lady. Her newest novel, Go Set A Watchman, was only published in July of last year. This new novel brought great attention to Harper Lee after her many years of living quietly in a small Alabama town.
As it is told, Go Set A Watchman was actually Harper’s first manuscript turned in to her editor, Tay Hohoff and she was encouraged by him to take a different approach to the story – thus, To Kill A Mockingbird was born.
Unless you had means to be able to disengage and still make a passing grade, most of you reading this have probably already read Mockingbird, as it was required reading in high school. I know I did and probably read it before required. I have run across some who have never read it which is sad.
As soon as I heard there was another Harper Lee novel in the works, and that it pertained to Mockingbird, my itchy fingers were ready to pluck it off the shelf. After reading it, I was left with gratitude and as to how grateful we all should be that Mockingbird derived from this manuscript.
This morning as I read the paper I came across Michael Gerson’s article titled, ‘The Deep Moral Insight of Harper Lee’s ‘Mockingbird’, which I’m sharing with you. Click on the link and read it. Makes a lot of sense.
Quotes by Harper Lee
- Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.
- You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.
- The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.
~Elle
Finding Myself Through Writing 
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Atticus Finch is a hero of mine, and Gregory Peck encapsulated him in the film. It’s a book everyone should read. 89…not a bad run, and to die in your sleep is the way we should all go out. Thanks for writing about her. 🙂
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Yes, we should all go so peacefully. Hope I make it to 89.
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Loved To Kill A Mockingbird and fell in love with the movie, and particularly Atticus Finch as portrayed by Gregory Peck. I wanted to grow up to be that kind of father—well…and Ward Clever. Anyway, I hope I succeeded.
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Don’t ask that question of your children until they are good and grown. Their views will change once they have children of their own Paul. I’m sure you succeeded though…~Elle
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I certainly hope so. Thanks Elle. :O)
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Living in England in 1960’s. I know I read the book. For that type of life was a world away for for 13 year old boy set loose in the adult section of the local library. Yet now. For the life of me I cannot remember the plot.
I found stories like Cannery Row and For Mice and Men. Much more memorable. After the contemporary novel, I found the Sci-Fi books much more entertaining. For life on either side of those tracks, became depressing to me.
I am not a huge book reader, these days. They are heavy and unwieldily things. Also they make me sleepy. Yet I do read one author almost as soon as his books are published.
Eliot Pattison, writes an entertaining and a fiction based in facts.
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I’ll have to look up some Eliot Pattison books. You try Mockingbird. 😊 ~Elle
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Yes, it will have to wait. I’m off for a month. I think the first Inspector Chan book was called the Skull Mantra?
http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_6?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=eliot+pattison&sprefix=eliot+%2Caps%2C213
If you are going to read them. They are a stand alone novels but reading them in order is recommended. Yes they are novels but with a detective twist. Nice one, Cheers J.
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An amazing book that resonates now more than ever…
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Yes it does and reading Michael’s column this morning made me realize that Jill!
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