Harper Lee's second novel will be released 50 years after the publication of her first novel
Harper Lee’s publishing company announced on Tuesday that the author will release her second novel in July of 2015.
The news came as a shock to countless Americans, who have grown up reading the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, published in 1960. Harper Lee’s new novel will be called “Go Set a Watchman.” This will be Ms. Lee’s second novel to be published; despite requests by fans and publishing companies in the past, Ms. Lee chose not to publish any novels after the release of “To Kill a Mockingbird”.
“Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, is thrilled to announce it has acquired North American rights to a newly discovered novel by Harper Lee, beloved author of To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel, which Lee titled ‘Go Set a Watchman’ will be published on July 14th, 2015,” wrote the publishing company in a statement.
Though Ms. Lee wrote the story before writing “To Kill a Mockingbird”, she was told by her publisher at the time to write about Scout’s life as a girl, so Harper Lee listened to the advice and went on to write the novel that continues to sell millions of copies a year.
“Go Set a Watchman” spans 304 pages and was written in the 1950’s. The novel takes place 20 years after the events of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, in the same town of Maycomb, Alabama. In the upcoming novel, Scout is visiting her father Atticus.
Ms. Lee stated that she thought she had lost her copy of “Go Set a Watchman”, until it was discovered by a friend. “I hadn't realized it had survived, so was surprised and delighted when my dear friend and lawyer Tonja Carter discovered it. After much thought and hesitation I shared it with a handful of people I trust and was pleased to hear that they considered it worthy of publication. I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years,” she said in a statement.
Two million copies of the novel will be released on July 14, 2015.
