A recently discovered novel by Harper Lee will be published in July, her second since her acclaimed "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published in 1960
Publisher Harper announced on Tuesday that it had acquired the rights to Lee's novel, titled "Go Set a Watchman," which will be published on July 14. Lee said in a statement released by Harper that she completed the novel in the mid-1950s and it was discovered by her lawyer Tonja Carter last fall.
"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," Lee said in the statement. "I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years."
The novel is set during the mid-1950s and features many of the characters from her first novel some 20 years later. In the book, the character of Scout has returned to Maycomb from New York to visit her father Atticus and deals with both personal and political issues, "as she tries to understand her father's attitude toward society, and her own feelings about the place where she was born and spent her childhood," the statement said.
Lee had set aside the novel after "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published by J.B. Lippincott and the original manuscript was considered to have been lost. But last fall, Carter discovered it in a "secure location" where it had been affixed to an original typescript of her first novel, according to the statement.
"This is a remarkable literary event. ... its discovery is an extraordinary gift to the many readers and fans of "To Kill a Mockingbird," Harper publisher Jonathan Burnham said in the statement. "Reading in many ways like a sequel to Harper Lee's classic novel, it is a compelling and ultimately moving narrative about a father and a daughter's relationship, and the life of a small Alabama town living through the racial tensions of the 1950s."
The publisher plans a first printing of 2 million copies and will be available in an electronic edition, the Associated Press reported.
Publisher Harper announced on Tuesday that it had acquired the rights to Lee's novel, titled "Go Set a Watchman," which will be published on July 14. Lee said in a statement released by Harper that she completed the novel in the mid-1950s and it was discovered by her lawyer Tonja Carter last fall.
"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," Lee said in the statement. "I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years."
The novel is set during the mid-1950s and features many of the characters from her first novel some 20 years later. In the book, the character of Scout has returned to Maycomb from New York to visit her father Atticus and deals with both personal and political issues, "as she tries to understand her father's attitude toward society, and her own feelings about the place where she was born and spent her childhood," the statement said.
Lee had set aside the novel after "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published by J.B. Lippincott and the original manuscript was considered to have been lost. But last fall, Carter discovered it in a "secure location" where it had been affixed to an original typescript of her first novel, according to the statement.
"This is a remarkable literary event. ... its discovery is an extraordinary gift to the many readers and fans of "To Kill a Mockingbird," Harper publisher Jonathan Burnham said in the statement. "Reading in many ways like a sequel to Harper Lee's classic novel, it is a compelling and ultimately moving narrative about a father and a daughter's relationship, and the life of a small Alabama town living through the racial tensions of the 1950s."
The publisher plans a first printing of 2 million copies and will be available in an electronic edition, the Associated Press reported.
