Harper Lee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harper Lee
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Portrait from the first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) (photo by Truman Capote)
|
|
| Born | Nelle Harper Lee April 28, 1926 Monroeville, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | February 19, 2016 (aged 89) Monroeville, Alabama, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Education | University of Alabama |
| Period | 1960–2016 |
| Genre |
|
| Literary movement | Southern Gothic |
| Notable works | |
| Signature | |
 |
|
Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926–February 19, 2016) was an American novelist. She is famous for her 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. This book won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize. It became a very important book in modern American literature.
Harper Lee received many awards. In 2007, she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This award honored her great contributions to literature. She also helped her friend Truman Capote with his research. This research was for his book In Cold Blood (1966). Capote was the inspiration for the character Dill Harris in To Kill a Mockingbird.
The story and characters in To Kill a Mockingbird are based on Lee's own life. She used her observations of her family and neighbors. She also included an event that happened near her hometown in 1936. The novel explores unfair attitudes about race and social class. It shows these issues in the Deep South during the 1930s. The story is told through the eyes of two children. The book was inspired by racist ideas in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. Another book, Go Set a Watchman, was published in 2015. It was later found to be an earlier version of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926. She was the youngest of four children. Her parents were Frances Cunningham (Finch) and Amasa Coleman Lee. She was born in Monroeville, Alabama. Her first name, Nelle, was her grandmother's name spelled backward. Harper Lee was the name she used for her books.
Her mother was a homemaker. Her father was a lawyer and businessman. He also worked as a newspaper editor. He served in the Alabama State Legislature. Through her father, she was related to Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Harper Lee had three older siblings. She was close to her brother. She also became good friends with Truman Capote. He visited family in Monroeville during the summers.
While at Monroe County High School, Lee loved English literature. Her teacher, Gladys Watson, was a great help to her. After high school, she went to Huntingdon College. Then she transferred to the University of Alabama. There, she studied law for several years. She also wrote for the university newspaper. However, she left college before finishing her law degree.
Writing To Kill a Mockingbird
In 1949, Lee moved to New York City. She worked at a bookstore and as an airline agent. She wrote in her free time. In 1956, she found a literary agent. The next month, friends gave her a special gift. They gave her a year's worth of wages. This allowed her to take a year off from work to write.
How the Book Was Created
.jpg)
In 1957, Lee sent her manuscript for Go Set a Watchman to publishers. The J. B. Lippincott Company bought it. An editor named Tay Hohoff was very impressed. She saw that Lee was a true writer. However, the manuscript needed a lot of work. Hohoff described it as "more a series of anecdotes than a fully conceived novel".
For the next two years, Hohoff helped Lee revise the book. They worked together through many drafts. The story became clearer and stronger. Eventually, it became To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee later said, "I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told."
When the novel was ready, Lee chose "Harper Lee" as her author name. She didn't want people to mispronounce her first name, Nelle, as "Nellie".
To Kill a Mockingbird was published on July 11, 1960. It quickly became a bestseller. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961. The book has sold over 40 million copies. In 1999, it was named "Best Novel of the Century" by the Library Journal.
Real-Life Inspirations
The character Scout in the novel is a tomboy. Like Lee, she is the daughter of a respected lawyer in a small Alabama town. Scout's friend, Dill, was inspired by Lee's childhood friend, Truman Capote. Lee herself was a model for a character in Capote's novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms. The legal case in Lee's novel is similar to one her own father handled.
Lee didn't talk much about how much of the book was true. But Truman Capote said that details about the character Boo Radley were real. He said, "Everything she wrote about it is absolutely true."
Life After To Kill a Mockingbird
For many years, Lee lived part-time in Manhattan. She was near her childhood friend Capote. In 1959, Lee went with Capote to Holcomb, Kansas. They researched a story about a family's murder. Capote used this research for his famous book, In Cold Blood.
After To Kill a Mockingbird was released, Lee became very famous. She found the publicity difficult because she liked her privacy. Racial tensions were high in the South when the book came out. The book won many awards.
Lee helped with the movie version of her book. The film won an Oscar in 1962. She said it was "one of the best translations of a book to film ever made." Gregory Peck won an Oscar for playing Atticus Finch. Peck's grandson is named Harper after her.
After To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee rarely gave interviews. She published almost nothing else until 2015. She started another novel but didn't finish it.
Lee took care of her aging father. He was very proud of her success. He even started signing autographs as "Atticus Finch." After his death in 1962, Lee spent more time in New York City.
In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Lee to the National Council on the Arts.
Lee's book also became controversial. Some people who supported segregation didn't like it. However, many people defended the book. For example, James J. Kilpatrick offered free copies to children. He said, "A more moral novel scarcely could be imagined."
In 1978, Lee returned to Alabama. She started a book about a serial murderer. But she put it aside because she wasn't happy with it.
Later Years and Awards
In 2005, Lee received an award in Philadelphia. She also traveled to Los Angeles to accept the Los Angeles Public Library Literary Award. She attended luncheons for students who wrote essays about her book. In 2006, she received an honorary degree from the University of Notre Dame. Students there saluted her with copies of To Kill a Mockingbird.
In 2006, Lee wrote a letter to Oprah Winfrey. She talked about her love for books. She said, "Now, 75 years later... I still plod along with books."
On November 5, 2007, President George W. Bush gave Lee the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is the highest award for civilians in the United States. It honors people who make great contributions to the country.
In 2010, President Barack Obama gave Lee the National Medal of Arts. This is the highest award for contributions to the arts.
In 2011, a friend said Lee was living in an assisted-living facility. She was using a wheelchair and had trouble seeing and hearing. She also had memory loss. He said Lee told him why she never wrote another book. She said she wouldn't go through the pressure again. She also felt she had said what she wanted to say.
In 2013, Lee filed a lawsuit to get back the copyright to To Kill a Mockingbird. She claimed her former agent's son-in-law tricked her. They settled the lawsuit later that year. In 2014, she settled another lawsuit. This one was against the Monroe County Heritage Museum. She claimed they used her name and book title without her permission.
Go Set a Watchman Publication
In 2014, Lee's lawyer, Tonja Carter, found a manuscript. It was for Go Set a Watchman. On February 3, 2015, HarperCollins announced they would publish it. This book features many characters from To Kill a Mockingbird.
It was first thought that Watchman was a sequel. However, it was later confirmed to be an earlier draft of To Kill a Mockingbird. The story is set about 20 years after Mockingbird. Scout returns home as an adult. She visits her father, Atticus Finch. She finds that her father's views have changed. This makes her think about her own feelings about her hometown.
Some people were concerned about the book's publication. They wondered if Lee, who had not published a book in 55 years, truly wanted it published. The State of Alabama investigated if Lee was well enough to agree. The investigation found no signs of pressure. Lee's lawyer said Lee was "happy as hell" about the book.
However, some of Lee's friends disagreed. Marja Mills, a friend, said Lee's sister, Alice, used to protect her. Alice had said, "Poor Nelle Harper can't see and can't hear and will sign anything put before her." Watchman was announced shortly after Alice's death.
Death
Harper Lee passed away peacefully in her sleep on February 19, 2016. She was 89 years old. Her funeral was held in Monroeville, Alabama. It was a private service for close family and friends.
After her death, The New York Times asked for her will to be made public. They argued that wills filed in court are public records. An Alabama court made her will public in 2018.
Fictional Portrayals
Harper Lee has been shown as a character in movies and TV.
- Catherine Keener played her in Capote (2005).
- Sandra Bullock played her in Infamous (2006).
- Tracey Hoyt played her in the TV movie Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story (1998).
- The character Idabel Thompkins in the movie Other Voices, Other Rooms (1995) was inspired by Lee as a child.
Works by Harper Lee
Books
- To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
- Go Set a Watchman (2015)
Articles
- Love—In Other Words (1961)
- Christmas to Me (1961)
- When Children Discover America (1965)
- Romance and High Adventure (1983)
- Open letter to Oprah Winfrey (2006)
See also
In Spanish: Harper Lee para niños
- Alabama literature
- Casey Cep
