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Harper Lee, who wrote one of America’s most beloved literary classics, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and surprised readers 55 years later with the publication of a second book about the same characters, died at the age of 89 on Friday.
Harper Lee is most known for her first novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which was published in 1959. The novel won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961.
The book was partially based on her Monroeville childhood and the law practice of her father A.C. Lee, whose character Atticus Finch was played by Gregory Peck in a movie adaptation of the book.
Lee was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2007. After suffering a stroke during the same year, she moved back to her hometown.
Her second novel, “Go Set a Watchman,” was published in July 2015 amid controversy over its release. The book was finished before “To Kill a Mockingbird,” but takes place 20 years later.
Some readers criticized the book as racist, while others were concerned whether Lee even wanted the book to be released.
The Alabama Department of Human Resources investigated allegations of elder abuse after the book’s impending release was announced. There were questions as to whether she was able to give consent to publish the new novel, but was able to answer questions to the satisfaction of the state and the investigation was closed.
Lee had lived in the Meadows of Monroeville retirement home until her death there Friday.
Her oldest nephew, Hank Conner, said, “We knew her as Nelle Harper Lee, a loving member of our family, a devoted friend to the many good people who touched her life, and a generous soul in our community and our state. We will miss her dearly.”
The family is planning a private funeral service.
Agencies/Canadajournal
