I’m true to the original. Love Lee and the novel. Love Atticus! It’s hard to undo one’s understanding of the man. However, I get that her original was more of a feminist text as well. Not only generational in that a young girl could truly think for herself and better than men/adults (in the book).
Thanks for this investigation! Truly a lot of controversy.
Love this post! I adored To Kill A Mockingbird as a kid and haven’t read the second book, though I walk past copies of it regularly in the used bookstore where I work. I’m not one of them, myself, but a lot of readers have an almost parasocial relationship with the authors they admire - they feel like they know the writer as a person, just through their books and their public image. So even without knowing the details, I get why there was so much controversy around this book, as to whether she really did write it or not. I understand why so many people want to believe she didn’t or else feel terribly disappointed that she did. I have no idea what to believe, but I don’t think I’ll ever read it, either way.
A wonderful post, Kate. Takes me back to my early study guide writing days. I loved Mockingbird, such an incredible work, but haven’t read the sequel. I really like the photograph of her with Capote.
Thanks Kate. I remember being disappointed in reading the sequel. Posthumous publication can be tricky. Joan Didion wrote a great essay about the treatment of Hemingway’s unfinished work and personal letters.
Kate, great article. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all-time favorite books. I did not care for the second book at all, and I have deep reservations about whether that was actually Lee's work. I think to really understand the U.S. it is imperative to attempt to understand racial issues. The great sin of our nation was slavery, and unfortunately, those tensions persisted in our cultural narrative even after the institution was abolished. Lee's book brings this to life in a way that many others have been unable to. Thanks again.
I’m true to the original. Love Lee and the novel. Love Atticus! It’s hard to undo one’s understanding of the man. However, I get that her original was more of a feminist text as well. Not only generational in that a young girl could truly think for herself and better than men/adults (in the book).
Thanks for this investigation! Truly a lot of controversy.
I love this! I'm curious: What are some of the best books you've read about her?
Love this post! I adored To Kill A Mockingbird as a kid and haven’t read the second book, though I walk past copies of it regularly in the used bookstore where I work. I’m not one of them, myself, but a lot of readers have an almost parasocial relationship with the authors they admire - they feel like they know the writer as a person, just through their books and their public image. So even without knowing the details, I get why there was so much controversy around this book, as to whether she really did write it or not. I understand why so many people want to believe she didn’t or else feel terribly disappointed that she did. I have no idea what to believe, but I don’t think I’ll ever read it, either way.
A wonderful post, Kate. Takes me back to my early study guide writing days. I loved Mockingbird, such an incredible work, but haven’t read the sequel. I really like the photograph of her with Capote.
Thanks Kate. I remember being disappointed in reading the sequel. Posthumous publication can be tricky. Joan Didion wrote a great essay about the treatment of Hemingway’s unfinished work and personal letters.
Kate, great article. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all-time favorite books. I did not care for the second book at all, and I have deep reservations about whether that was actually Lee's work. I think to really understand the U.S. it is imperative to attempt to understand racial issues. The great sin of our nation was slavery, and unfortunately, those tensions persisted in our cultural narrative even after the institution was abolished. Lee's book brings this to life in a way that many others have been unable to. Thanks again.
OMG my badddd, I absolutely thought Harper Lee was a man 🤭