by Charles J. Shields · 2016
ISBN: 1250119456 9781250119452
Category: Biography & Autobiography / Literary Figures
Page count: 368
<b>“This biography will not disappoint those who loved the novel and the feisty, independent, fiercely loyal Scout, in whom Harper Lee put so much of herself.” —Garrison Keillor, <i>The New York Times Book Review</i></b><br><br>An extensively revised and updated edition of the <i>New York Times</i>–bestselling biography of Harper Lee, reframed from the perspective of the recent publication of Lee’s Go Set a Watchman.<br><br><i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>—the twentieth century’s most widely read American novel—has sold thirty million copies and still sells a million yearly. In this in-depth biography, first published in 2006, Charles J. Shields brings to life the woman who gave us two of American literature’s most unforgettable characters, Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout.<br><br>Years after its initial publication—with revisions throughout the book and a new epilogue—Shields finishes the story of Harper Lee’s life, up to its end. There’s her former agent getting her to transfer the copyright for <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> to him, the death of Lee’s dear sister Alice, a fuller portrait of Lee’s editor, Tay Hohoff, and—most vitally—the release of Lee’s long-buried first novel and the ensuing public devouring of what has truly become the book of the year, if not the decade: <i>Go Set a Watchman</i>.<br><br>“To every <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> reader, I send this message: The story isn’t over. There’s so much more to come, and you’ll find it all in Charles Shields’ delightful and insightful <i>Mockingbird</i>.” —Homer Hickam, #1 <i>New York Times</i>–bestselling author<br><br>“Lively, absorbing . . . If you treasure Scout, one of literature’s more endearing characters, you’ll like the woman who emerges in <i>Mockingbird</i>.” —<i>The Miami Herald</i>