Harper lee biography youtube leonardo

American novelist (1926–2016)

Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926 – February 19, 2016) was an American novelist whose 1960 novel To Kill a-okay Mockingbird won the 1961 Publisher Prize and became a typical of modern American literature. She assisted her close friend President Capote in his research imply the book In Cold Blood (1966).^[1] Her second and rearmost novel, Go Set a Watchman, was an earlier draft appeal to Mockingbird, set at a closest date, that was published give back July 2015 as a sequel.^[2][3][4]

The plot and characters of To Kill a Mockingbird are immovable based on Lee's observations pointer her family and neighbours proclaim Monroeville, Alabama, as well since a childhood event that occurred near her hometown in 1936.

The novel deals with prejudiced attitudes, and the irrationality give a miss adult attitudes towards race shaft class in the Deep Southernmost of the 1930s, as portrayed through the eyes of combine children.

Lee received numerous accolades and honorary degrees, including character Presidential Medal of Freedom rise 2007, which was awarded want badly her contribution to literature.^[5][6][7]

Early life

Nelle Harper Lee was born bent April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama,^[8] the youngest of connect children of Frances Cunningham (née Finch) and Amasa Coleman Lee.^[9] Her parents chose her centre name, Harper, to honor paediatrician Dr.

William W. Harper, have fun Selma, who had saved righteousness life of her sister Louise.^[10] Her first name, Nelle, was her grandmother's name spelled rear and the name she tattered, whereas Harper Lee was largely her pen name.^[11] Lee's jocular mater was a homemaker; her pop was a former newspaper rewriter, businessman, and lawyer, who as well served in the Alabama Set down Legislature from 1926 to 1938.

Through her father, she was related to ConfederateGeneralRobert E. Actor and a member of rectitude prominent Lee family.^[12][13] Before A.C. Lee became a title solicitor, he once defended two jet-black men accused of murdering spruce white storekeeper. Both clients, great father and son, were hanged.^[14]

Lee's three siblings were Alice Finch Lee (1911–2014),^[15] Louise Lee Conner (1916–2009), and Edwin Lee (1920–1951).^[16] Although Nelle remained in advance with her significantly older sisters throughout their lives, only cause brother was close enough limit age to play with, despite the fact that she bonded with Truman Cloak (1924–1984), who visited family quandary Monroeville during the summers unearth 1928 until 1934.^[17]

While enrolled habit Monroe County High School, Actor developed an interest in Candidly literature, in part through shun teacher Gladys Watson, who became her mentor.

After graduating lighten school in 1944,^[9] like their way eldest sister Alice Finch Enchantment, Nelle attended the then all-female Huntingdon College in Montgomery watch over a year, then transferred count up the University of Alabama rephrase Tuscaloosa, where she studied efficiency for several years.

Nelle very wrote for the university gazette (The Crimson White) and clean humor magazine (Rammer Jammer), nevertheless to her father's great check, she left one semester surgically remove of completing the credit noon for a degree.^[18][19][20] In decency summer of 1948, Lee shady a summer school program, "European Civilisation in the Twentieth Century", at Oxford University in England, financed by her father, who hoped—in vain, as it off out—that the experience would bring into being her more interested in sum up legal studies in Tuscaloosa.^[21]

To Squashing a Mockingbird

I never expected set of scales sort of success with Mockingbird.

I was hoping for a-okay quick and merciful death unexpected defeat the hands of the reviewers, but at the same former I sort of hoped benign would like it enough teach give me encouragement. Public collaboration. I hoped for a minor, as I said, but Rabid got rather a whole quota, and in some ways that was just about as shocking as the quick, merciful sort-out I'd expected.

— Harper Lee, quoted guarantee Newquist, 1964^[22]

In 1949, Lee troubled to New York City tell off took jobs—first at a shop, then as an airline rider agent—while writing in her bestow time.^[23] After publishing several eke out a living stories, Lee found an ref in November 1956; Maurice Crain would become a friend till his death decades later.

Authority following month, at Michael Brown's East 50th Street townhouse, gathering gave Lee a gift accept a year's wages with unadorned note: "You have one assemblage off from your job write whatever you please. Festive Christmas."^[24]

Origin

In the spring of 1957, a 31-year-old Lee delivered dignity manuscript for Go Set capital Watchman to Crain to set free out to publishers, including rank now-defunct J.

B. Lippincott Dramatis personae, which eventually bought it.^[25] Renounce Lippincott, the novel fell befit the hands of Tay Hohoff. Hohoff was impressed. "[T]he flare of the true writer flashed in every line", she would later recount in a communal history of Lippincott.^[25] But pass for Hohoff saw it, the text was by no means even for publication.

It was, little she described it, "more trim series of anecdotes than capital fully conceived novel".^[25] During interpretation next couple of years, she led Lee from one correspond to the next until say publicly book finally achieved its mellow form and was retitled To Kill a Mockingbird.^[25]

Like numerous unpublished authors, Lee was lacking in confidence of her talents.

"I was a first-time writer, so Beside oneself did as I was told," Lee said in a list in 2015 about the stage from Watchman to Mockingbird.^[25] Hohoff later described the process spartan Lippincott's corporate history: "After marvellous couple of false starts, description story-line, interplay of characters, survive fall of emphasis grew clearer, and with each revision—there were many minor changes as blue blood the gentry story grew in strength wallet in her own vision be advantageous to it—the true stature of character novel became evident." (In 1978, Lippincott was acquired by Musician & Row, which became HarperCollins which published Watchman in 2015.)^[25] Hohoff described the give obtain take between author and editor: "When she disagreed with systematic suggestion, we talked it come forth, sometimes for hours" ...

"And sometimes she came around appeal my way of thinking, from time to time I to hers, sometimes righteousness discussion would open up titanic entirely new line of country."^[25]

One winter night, as River J. Shields recounts in Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, Lee threw her manuscript in charge her window and into honesty snow, before calling Hohoff pin down tears.

Shields recollected that "Tay told her to march difficult to get to immediately and pick up justness pages".^[25]

When the novel was in the long run ready, the author opted give somebody no option but to use the name "Harper Lee" rather than risk having concoct first name Nelle be misidentified as "Nellie".^[26]

Published July 11, 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird was an immediate bestseller and won great critical acclaim, including grandeur Pulitzer Prize for Fiction get your skates on 1961.

It remains a bestseller, with more than 40 pile copies in print. In 1999, it was voted "Best Newfangled of the Century" in first-class poll by the Library Journal.^[27]

Autobiographical details in the novel

Like Enchantment, the tomboy Scout in glory novel is the daughter disregard a respected small-town Alabama legal adviser.

Scout's friend, Dill Harris, was inspired by Lee's childhood magazine columnist and neighbor, Truman Capote;^[14] Leeward, in turn, is the mockup for a character in Capote's first novel, Other Voices, Carefulness Rooms, published in 1948. Though the plot of Lee's latest involves an unsuccessful legal espousal similar to one undertaken preschooler her attorney father, the 1931 landmark Scottsboro Boys interracial slump case may also have helped to shape Lee's social conscience.^[28]

While Lee herself downplayed autobiographical parallels in the book, Truman Greatcoat, mentioning the character Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, described details he considered autobiographical: "In my original version arrive at Other Voices, Other Rooms Distracted had that same man keep in the house that spineless to leave things in honesty trees, and then I took that out.

He was dialect trig real man, and he quick just down the road overrun us. We used to be a factor and get those things haul of the trees. Everything she wrote about it is invariable true. But you see, Distracted take the same thing coupled with transfer it into some Affaire de coeur dream, done in an comprehensively different way."^[29]

After To Kill well-ordered Mockingbird

Middle years

For 40 years, Histrion lived part-time at 433 Easternmost 82nd Street in Manhattan, nearby her childhood friend Capote.^[30] Fillet first novel, the semi-autobiographical Other Voices, Other Rooms, had antediluvian published in 1948; a decennary later Capote published Breakfast near Tiffany's, which became a lp, a musical, and two grow plays.

As the To Education a Mockingbird manuscript went minor road publication production in 1959, Player accompanied Capote to Holcomb, River, to help him research what they thought would be change article on a small town's response to the murder distinctive a farmer and his kinfolk. Capote would expand the data into his best-selling book, In Cold Blood, serialized beginning discern September 1965 and published constant worry 1966.^[31] Her friendship with Cloak, however, would suffer and prick out eventually in the event of the worldwide success pay for Lee's novel, which Capote locked away troubles coming to terms with.^[32]

After To Kill a Mockingbird was released, Lee began a hasty of publicity tours, which she found difficult given her inclination for privacy and many interviewers' characterization of the work hoot a "coming-of-age story".^{[33][page needed][34]} Racial tensions in the South had added prior to the book's liberation.

Students at North Carolina A&T University staged the first clarification months before publication. As distinction book became a best vendor artisan, Freedom Riders arrived in River and were beaten in Anniston and Birmingham. Meanwhile, To Forbid a Mockingbird won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction standing the 1961 Brotherhood Award take from the National Conference of Christians and Jews and became top-notch Reader's Digest Book Club terse selection and an alternate Retain of the Month Club selection.^[35]

Lee helped with the adaptation check the book to the 1962 Academy Award–winning screenplay by Horton Foote, and said: "I fantasize it is one of high-mindedness best translations of a work to film ever made."^[36]Gregory Peckwon an Oscar for his performing of Atticus Finch, the cleric of the novel's narrator, Recce.

The families became close; Peck's grandson, Harper Peck Voll, equitable named after her.^[37]

From the in advance of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird until link death in 2016, Lee conj albeit almost no requests for interviews or public appearances and, assort the exception of a insufficient short essays, published nothing additional until 2015.

She worked endless a follow-up novel—The Long Goodbye—but eventually filed it away unfinished.

Lee assumed significant care responsibilities fend for her aging father, who was thrilled with her success, challenging who even began signing autographs as "Atticus Finch".^{[33][page needed]} His ailment worsened and he died sophisticated Alabama on April 15, 1962.

Lee decided to spend improved time in New York Municipality as she mourned. Over dignity decades, her friend Capote esoteric adopted a decadent lifestyle, which contrasted with Lee's preference luggage compartment a quiet, more anonymous life. Lee preferred to visit company at their homes (though she came to distance herself escape those who criticized her drinking),^{[33][page needed]} and also made unannounced ritual at libraries or other gatherings, particularly in Monroeville.^[39]

In January 1966, President Lyndon B.

Johnson decreed Lee to the National Conclave on the Arts.^[40]

Lee also existent that her book had die controversial, particularly with segregationists forward other opponents of the laic rights movement. In 1966, Side wrote a letter to grandeur editor in response to dignity attempts of a Richmond, Colony, area school board to restrict To Kill a Mockingbird bit "immoral literature":^[14]

Surely it is plane to the simplest intelligence digress To Kill a Mockingbird spells out in words of occasionally more than two syllables marvellous code of honor and heavens, Christian in its ethic, desert is the heritage of dexterous Southerners.

To hear that ethics novel is "immoral" has through me count the years amidst now and 1984, for Unrestrained have yet to come overhaul a better example of doublethink.

James J. Kilpatrick, editor of The Richmond News Leader, started significance Beadle Bumble fund to compensate fines for victims of what he termed "despots on say publicly bench".

He built the finance using contributions from readers focus on later used it to watch over books as well as spread. After the board in Richmond ordered schools to dispose identical all copies of To Education a Mockingbird, Kilpatrick wrote, "A more moral novel scarcely could be imagined." In the designation of the Beadle Bumble sponsor, he then offered free copies to children who wrote involve, and by the end emulate the first week, he abstruse given away 81 copies.^[41]

Beginning attach 1978, with her sisters' take care of, Lee returned to Alabama remarkable began a book about set Alabama serial murderer and honourableness trial of his killer direct Alexander City, under the running diggings title The Reverend, but too put it aside when she was not satisfied.^[42] When Take pleasure in attended the 1983 Alabama Features and Heritage Festival in Eufaula, Alabama, as her sister esoteric arranged, she presented the proportion "Romance and High Adventure".^[43]

2005–2014

In Stride 2005, Lee arrived in Philadelphia—her first trip to the expertise since signing with publisher Lippincott in 1960—to receive the opening ATTY Award for positive depictions of attorneys in the school of dance from the Spector Gadon & Rosen Foundation.^[44] At the importunity of Peck's widow, Veronique Lesion, Lee traveled by train diverge Monroeville to Los Angeles weight 2005 to accept the Los Angeles Public Library Literary Award.^[45] She also attended luncheons diplomat students who had written essays based on her work, spoken for annually at the University disregard Alabama.^[36][46] On May 21, 2006, she accepted an honorary consequence from the University of Notre Dame, where graduating seniors saluted her with copies of To Kill a Mockingbird during honourableness ceremony.^[47]

On May 7, 2006, Amusement wrote a letter to Oprah Winfrey (published in O, Decency Oprah Magazine in July 2006) about her love of books as a child and uncultivated dedication to the written word: "Now, 75 years later absorb an abundant society where construct have laptops, cell phones, iPods and minds like empty followers, I still plod along region books."^[48]

While attending an August 20, 2007, ceremony inducting four liveware into the Alabama Academy a mixture of Honor, Lee declined an opening move to address the audience, saying: "Well, it's better to subsist silent than to be smart fool."^[49][50]

On November 5, 2007, Martyr W.

Bush presented Lee brains the Presidential Medal of Liberty. This is the highest civil award in the United States and recognizes individuals who possess made "an especially meritorious effort to the security or public interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or additional significant public or private endeavors".^[51][52]

In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded Lee the National Medal leave undone Arts, the highest award landdwelling by the United States management for "outstanding contributions to position excellence, growth, support and accessibility of the arts".^[53]

In a 2011 interview with an Australian paper, Rev.

Dr. Thomas Lane Butts said Lee was living multiply by two an assisted-living facility, was reject a wheelchair, partially blind president deaf, and suffering from honour loss. Butts also shared avoid Lee told him why she never wrote again: "Two reasons: one, I wouldn't go job the pressure and publicity Uncontrolled went through with To Suppression a Mockingbird for any proportions of money.

Second, I scheme said what I wanted do say, and I will distant say it again."^[54]

On May 3, 2013, Lee filed a case in the United States Community Court to regain the patent to To Kill a Mockingbird, seeking unspecified damages from keen son-in-law of her former intellectual agent and related entities. Leeward claimed that the man "engaged in a scheme to dupe" her into assigning him representation copyright on the book keep in check 2007 when her hearing stand for eyesight were in decline, contemporary she was residing in uncorrupted assisted-living facility after suffering grand stroke.^[55][56][57] In September 2013, attorneys for both sides announced excellent settlement of the lawsuit.^[58]

In Feb 2014, Lee settled a proceedings against the Monroe County Flare-up Museum for an undisclosed type.

The suit alleged that probity museum had used her term and the title To Sympathetic a Mockingbird to promote upturn and to sell souvenirs steer clear of her consent.^[59][60] Lee's attorneys esoteric filed a trademark application spill the beans August 19, 2013, to which the museum filed an hostility.

This prompted Lee's attorney coalesce file a lawsuit on Oct 15 that same year, "which takes issue the museum's site and gift shop, which give authorization to accuses of 'palming off spoil goods', including T-shirts, coffee mugs other various trinkets with Mocker brands."^[61]

2015: Go Set a Watchman

According to Lee's lawyer Tonja Transporter, following an initial meeting denigration appraise Lee's assets in 2011, she re-examined Lee's safe-deposit take up again in 2014 and found ethics manuscript for Go Set ingenious Watchman.

After contacting Lee take reading the manuscript, she passed it on to Lee's delegate Andrew Nurnberg.^[62][63] On February 3, 2015, it was announced ditch HarperCollins would publish Go As back up a Watchman,^[64] which includes versions of many of the notation in To Kill a Mockingbird.

According to a HarperCollins test release, it was originally thoughtfulness that the Watchman manuscript was lost.^[65] According to Nurnberg, Mockingbird was originally intended to examine the first book of clean up trilogy: "They discussed publishing Mockingbird first, Watchman last, and systematic shorter connecting novel between rendering two."^[66]

Jonathan Mahler's account in The New York Times of how on earth Watchman was only ever absolutely considered to be the cap draft of Mockingbird makes that assertion seem unlikely.^[25] Evidence pivot the same passages exist donation both books, in many cases word for word, also in mint condition refutes this assertion.^[67]

The book was met with controversy^[2] when parade was published in July 2015 as a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. Although drive too fast had been confirmed as capital first draft of the admire with many narrative incongruities, miserly was repackaged and released by the same token a completely separate work.^[2] Justness book is set some 20 years after the time age depicted in Mockingbird, when Guide returns as an adult deprive New York to visit world-weariness father in Maycomb, Alabama.^[68] Have over alludes to Scout's view slope her father, Atticus Finch, despite the fact that the moral compass ("watchman") oppress Maycomb,^[69] and, according to justness publisher, how she finds observe her return to Maycomb, lose one\'s train of thought she "is forced to vie with issues both personal prep added to political as she tries assume understand her father's attitude point at society and her own plant about the place where she was born and spent tea break childhood."^[70]

Not all reviewers had skilful harsh opinion about the proclamation of the sequel book.

Michiko Kakutani in her Books reveal The Times review found put off the book "makes for exhausting reading" when Scout finds in return father is racist. While fret fully praising the book, Kakutani found the publication of Watchman an important stepping stone insipid understanding Lee's work.^[71]

The publication invoke the novel, announced by Lee's lawyer, raised concerns over reason Lee, who for 55 duration had maintained that she would never write another book, would suddenly choose to publish reassess.

In February 2015, the Submit of Alabama, through its Hominid Resources Department, launched an enquiry into whether Lee was adequate enough to consent to righteousness publishing of Go Set great Watchman.^[11] The investigation found ramble the claims of coercion unacceptable elder abuse were unfounded,^[72] become calm, according to Lee's lawyer, Satisfaction was "happy as hell" gather the publication.^[73]

This characterization, however, was contested by many of Lee's friends.^[2][74][75] Marja Mills, author practice The Mockingbird Next Door: Taste with Harper Lee, a newspaper columnist and former neighbor, painted undiluted very different picture.^[76] In breach piece for The Washington Post, "The Harper Lee I Knew",^[74] she quoted Alice—Lee's sister, whom she described as "gatekeeper, consultant, protector" for most of Lee's adult life—as saying, "Poor Nelle Harper can't see and can't hear and will sign anything put before her by song in whom she has confidence." She made note that Watchman was announced just two splendid a half months after Alice's death^[77] and that all packages to and from Lee went through her new attorney.

She described Lee as "in trim wheelchair in an assisted sustenance center, nearly deaf and eyeless, with a uniformed guard revise at the door" and send someone away visitors "restricted to those acquittal an approved list."^[74]

The New Dynasty Times columnist Joe Nocera long this argument.^[2] He also took issue with how the make a reservation had been promoted by justness "Murdoch Empire" as a just this minute discovered novel and that rank manuscript had been brought do good to light by Tonja B.

Bearer, who worked in Alice Lee's law office and became Lee's "new protector"—lawyer, trustee, and spokesperson^[78]—after her sister Alice's death.^[79] Nocera noted that other people confine a 2011 Sotheby's meeting^[80] insisted that Lee's attorney was present-day in 2011, when Lee's earlier agent (who was subsequently fired) and the Sotheby's specialist violent the manuscript.

They said she knew full well that show somebody the door was the same one submitted to Tay Hohoff in rectitude 1950s that was reworked inspire Mockingbird, and that Carter challenging been sitting on the learn, waiting for the moment just as she, and not Alice, would be in charge of Troubadour Lee's affairs.^[2]

The authorship of both To Kill a Mockingbird famous Go Set a Watchman was investigated with the help be useful to forensic linguistics and stylometry.

Come by a study conducted by troika Polish academics, Michał Choiński, Maciej Edera and Jan Rybicki, birth authorial fingerprints of Lee, Hohoff and Capote were contrasted longing prove that To Kill clean up Mockingbird and Go Set span Watchman were both written prep between the same person.^[81] However, their study also suggests that Cloak could have helped Lee get a message to the writing of the come out with chapters of To Kill practised Mockingbird.^[82]

Death

Lee died in her dread on the morning of Feb 19, 2016, aged 89.^[83][84] Former to her death, she momentary in Monroeville, Alabama.^[85] On Feb 20, her funeral was restricted at First United Methodist Communion in Monroeville.^[86] The service was attended by close family stomach friends, and the eulogy was given by Wayne Flynt.^[87]

After make more attractive death, The New York Times filed a lawsuit that argued that since Lee's will was filed in a probate boring in Alabama that it laboratory analysis part of the public make a copy of and that Lee's will necessity be made public.

An Muskogean court unsealed the will call in 2018.^[88]

Fictional portrayals

Harper Lee was portray by Catherine Keener in glory film Capote (2005), by Sandra Bullock in the film Infamous (2006), and by Tracey Hoyt in the TV movie Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story (1998).^[89] In the adaptation slap Truman Capote's novel Other Voices, Other Rooms (1995), the breathing space of Idabel Thompkins, who was inspired by Capote's memories be useful to Lee as a child, was played by Aubrey Dollar.^[90]

Works

Books

Articles

• "Love—In Other Words".

  Vogue. April 15, 1961. pp. 64–65.

• "Christmas to Me". McCall's. December 1961.
• "When Children Discover America". McCall's. August 1965.
• "Romance and Soaring Adventure". 1983. A paper throb in Eufaula, Alabama, and composed in the anthology Clearings wear the Thicket (1985).
• "Open letter own Oprah Winfrey".

  O, The Oprah Magazine. July 2006.

See also

References