Staff Writer
An
unreleased novel by To Kill a Mockingbird
author Harper Lee, Go Set a Watchmen,
is set to come out on July 14. The
book, centering on the protagonist of To
Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch, as an adult, was written before Mockingbird in the early 1950s. Lee’s publisher convinced her not to release
the book, telling her to focus instead on flashback sequences in the novel that
focused on Finch as a child. This
recommendation led to To Kill a
Mockingbird being released.
The
announcement that a second novel by Lee will be released came as a huge
surprise, as To Kill a Mockingbird was
her only published novel. English teacher Alexandra Mann says, “It’s a literary
classic, and I feel that only the original writer could reproduce a work like
that… Anything that gets people reading is a good thing.” Many people are excited to see the
continuation of the original story, as many people felt a strong connection to
the book’s characters. “I am excited,”
says English teacher Laura Levine. “It’s interesting how it’s a sequel, even
though it was written before.”
Some people are claiming that Lee has been
manipulated into releasing the new book and that she is being taken advantage
of, and there are people who believe that the decision to release the novel is
going against Lee’s wishes. Lee’s late
sister, Alice, has said in the past that, "Harper can't see and can't hear
and will sign anything put before her by anyone in whom she has confidence." Lee is famously reclusive, and has been even
more private since she suffered a stroke in 2007. Tonja Carter, Lee’s lawyer, says that the
author is “extremely hurt” by the claims that she was manipulated into
releasing the book. Recently, in a rare
interview, Lee said that she was “amazed” at the upcoming release of the book
and the buzz it has caused.
