Sometimes success can come too soon, such as in the case of the high school football star who isn't quite good enough to land a college scholarship. The best years of his life can be over by the time he's 18, making the rest of his life seem anticlimactic.Harper Lee was several years older than that when "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published. Even so she was not prepared for its instant success and didn't know how to deal with life afterward. She had planned to make writing her life's work, yet she never published another book. Why not? Charles J. Shields addresses that question in "Mockingbird," his biography of Harper Lee, known to her friends as Nelle.Lee did continue writing after "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published in 1960, but nothing she worked on seemed good enough to her after that debut. She spent a decade or more writing a second novel, also set in the South of her youth, and at one time it was even reported to be ready to go to her publisher. That never happened. She worked for a long time on a nonfiction crime book, something on the order of "In Cold Blood," on which she worked with her childhood friend Truman Capote (the model for Dill in "Mockingbird"). (Shields writes that Lee's efforts made "In Cold Blood" possible, though Capote, perhaps jealous of his friend's success, never gave her proper credit.)In the end, she simply gave up and became something of a recluse, shunning interviews with reporters and attention from adoring fans. Her lone book continues to produce enough income to live on, though she lives much more simply than would be necessary. Never married, she lives alone, winters in Alabama and summers in New York City.Asked once why she never wrote another book, Lee replied, "I said what I had to say." That may have been an oversimplification, but still her one book said much more than what most of us can say in a lifetime.
Show lessSometimes success can come too soon, such as in the case of the high school football star who isn't quite good enough to land a college scholarship. The best years of his life can be over by the time he's 18, making the rest of his life seem anticlimactic.Harper Lee was several years older than that when "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published. Even so she was not prepared for its instant success and didn't know how to deal with life afterward. She had planned to make writing her life's work, yet she never published another book. Why not? Charles J. Shields addresses that question in "Mockingbird," his biography of Harper Lee, known to her friends as Nelle.Lee did continue writing after "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published in 1960, but nothing she worked on seemed good enough to her after that debut. She spent a decade or more writing a second novel, also set in the South of her youth, and at one time it was even reported to be ready to go to her publisher. That never happened. She worked for a long time on a nonfiction crime book, something on the order of "In Cold Blood," on which she worked with her childhood friend Truman Capote (the model for Dill in "Mockingbird"). (Shields writes that Lee's efforts made "In Cold Blood" possible, though Capote, perhaps jealous of his friend's success, never gave her proper credit.)In the end, she simply gave up and became something of a recluse, shunning interviews with reporters and attention from adoring fans. Her lone book continues to produce enough income to live on, though she lives much more simply than would be necessary. Never married, she lives alone, winters in Alabama and summers in New York City.Asked once why she never wrote another book, Lee replied, "I said what I had to say." That may have been an oversimplification, but still her one book said much more than what most of us can say in a lifetime.
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Although somewhat dry, this is a fascinating account of Harper Lee's childhood, her family relationships, and her friendship with Truman Capote. It's an unauthorized biography, definitely sympathetic to Lee, well-researched, and loaded with anecdotes about famous people and the publishing world.
Show lessAlthough somewhat dry, this is a fascinating account of Harper Lee's childhood, her family relationships, and her friendship with Truman Capote. It's an unauthorized biography, definitely sympathetic to Lee, well-researched, and loaded with anecdotes about famous people and the publishing world.
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A wonderfully written book on Harper Lee. Instantly became one of my favourite biographies. A great job of dipping into her life and showing it yet at the same time showing restraint and granting her the privacy that she desires and rightfully deserves (as everyone in public does). Hopefully Miss Lee sees it that way as well.
Show lessA wonderfully written book on Harper Lee. Instantly became one of my favourite biographies. A great job of dipping into her life and showing it yet at the same time showing restraint and granting her the privacy that she desires and rightfully deserves (as everyone in public does). Hopefully Miss Lee sees it that way as well.
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