Harper Lee said it definitively 55 years ago: To Kill a Mockingbird would be her last novel.
The heavens have smiled upon us, however, because Harper Lee has announced that she’s to publish her second novel… AND IT’S A SEQUEL TO TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.
To Kill a Mockingbird — the American classic that is known throughout the world for its commentary on social and racial injustice through the eyes of a young girl named Scout Finch — is getting a sequel, with many of the same characters still intact. The sequel, which is called Go Set a Watchman will focus on an aged Atticus Finch and his now grown daughter Scout Finch. Go Set a Watchman takes place 20 years after To Kill a Mockingbird, and it deals again with racial discrimination and tensions as well as the relationship between Atticus and Scout.
What’s fascinating about this development is that it’s been revealed that Go Set a Watchman was the first manuscript that Harper Lee wrote, even before To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee was told by her publisher that, although Go Set a Watchman was endearing, a young Scout was sure to be a hit to readers. So, she did what she was told and focused on the early years of Scout and co., and it was published and became the phenomenon we know today.
In her own words, Lee had this to say in a statement from her publisher, Harper: “In the mid-1950s, I completed a novel called Go Set a Watchman. It features the character known as Scout as an adult woman, and I thought it a pretty decent effort. My editor, who was taken by the flashbacks to Scout’s childhood, persuaded me to write a novel (what became To Kill a Mockingbird) from the point of view of the young Scout.”
Though the manuscript of Go Set a Watchman was lost, it was rediscovered in a “safe and secure location” by her lawyer Tonja Carter. At the age of 88, Harper Lee could not hide her joy over the publication of her new novel. However, doubts have been raised after the major announcement was issued this past Tuesday.
“Consider that To Kill a Mockingbird went through several complete drafts,” Charles Shields, author of Lee’s biography, said on Wednesday. “Although my fingers are crossed, I suspect Go Set a Watchman will show signs of what it is: a first attempt at novel-writing by a young, inexperienced author.” He also connected the publication of this novel to the passing of Harper Lee’s sister, Alice Lee, saying that the two of them did not have a good relationship and that he believed Alice would have advised against the book’s publication. Shields also came out with the insinuation that Harper Lee, given her age and mental state, is only getting poor advice on the matter.
Many others are also, naturally, in doubt of whether Lee’s new offering will fair up to the success of To Kill a Mockingbird. A lot of this has to do with the idea that Lee had said that she doesn’t want to be part of the media and public spectacle after her first major success. Her editor, Van Dusen, said in an interview, “She’s not a recluse at all. She just doesn’t like publicity.”
But it is possible that what the Atlantic said about Harper Lee breaking her silence is also true, that “perhaps Lee regretted having signed over her copyright of Mockingbird, and wanted something else she could call, in the fullest sense, truly hers.”
As a fan, I am deeply and utterly excited to read this novel, no matter what the media says about it. I am truly hoping that HarperCollins does something that may improve this 1950’s manuscript and could make itself stand next to Lee’s behemoth of a novel while simultaneously boggling our minds and raising our awareness on the subject matter once more.
Go Set a Watchman is slated to be released July 14, 2015, under HarperCollins.