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February 3, 2015

Author of To Kill a Mockingbird Releases new Book—and Here’s the First Chapter.

Nelle_Harper_Lee

55 years after bonafide American classic To Kill a Mockingbird was published, Harper Lee has released the first chapter of her newest novel, Go Set a Watchman.

But actually, this novel isn’t all that new. In fact, it was penned even before she had ever dreamed of To Kill a Mockingbird—but more on that later from Elephant writer Alex Myles.

This month, Lee has teamed up with The Guardian to release the narrated, illustrated and paired-with-music excerpt of the novel it’s taken her 55 years to publish. Did we mention that Reese Witherspoon is the narrator?

I don’t know about you, but I plan on stopping everything to devour this first chapter of Go Set A Watchman (which you can do here). Judging by how influential and poignant TKAMB was, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all got high hopes for this one. {Editor’s Note by Alli Sarazen}

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“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” ~ Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

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88-year-old Harper Lee has proved that it’s never too late for anything in life as a book she wrote in the 1950s, Go Set a Watchman (a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird) is due for release in July of this year.

To Kill a Mockingbird, which was published 60 years ago, sold in excess of 40 million copies and is one of the most treasured books in modern history.

Go Set a Watchman was the first book penned by Harper Lee, however, at the time her agent encouraged her not to publish this book and was instead asked to write a different piece from the perspective of one of the characters from her work.

Trusting the words of her agent, Lee agreed and To Kill a Mockingbird was born.

Years passed by and Harper Lee believed her original book (Go Set a Watchman) was long gone, however, it was discovered locked away in a secure location, which is the reason it will now finally be released.

The author of the classic To Kill a Mockingbird has not spoken publicly about either of these books since the 1960s. But, as news came in of this latest release she broke her silence saying, “I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years.”

The news will no doubt cause a flurry of excitement for the millions of fans and readers who adored To Kill a Mockingbird, which was also later made into a movie of the same name.

Harper Collins has issued a statement saying this is a “remarkable literary event,” adding that this new book’s “discovery is an extraordinary gift to the many readers and fans of To Kill a Mockingbird.”

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Relephant:

10 Great Lines from 10 Great Books.

 

Author: Alex Myles

Editor: Travis May

Photo: Wikipedia

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