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Harper Lee dead at age of 89: 'To Kill a Mockingbird Author' passes away
AL.com ^ | 2/19/2016 | Connor Sheets

Posted on 02/19/2016 7:51:13 AM PST by Borges

Nelle Harper Lee, who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961 for her book, "To Kill a Mockingbird," has died at the age of 89, multiple sources in her hometown of Monroeville confirmed Friday morning.

Lee was born April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, the youngest of four children of lawyer Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee.

As a child, Lee attended elementary school and high school just a few blocks from her house on Alabama Avenue. In a March 1964 interview, she offered this capsule view of her childhood: "I was born in a little town called Monroeville, Alabama, on April 28, 1926. I went to school in the local grammar school, went to high school there, and then went to the University of Alabama. That's about it, as far as education goes."

She moved to New York in 1949, where she worked as an airlines reservations clerk while pursuing a writing career. Eight years later, Lee submitted her manuscript for "To Kill a Mockingbird" to J.B. Lippincott & Co., which asked her to rewrite it.

On July 11, 1960, Lee's novel was published by Lippincott with critical and commercial success. The author won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction the following year.

The film adaptation of the novel, with Mary Badham as Scout, opened on Christmas Day of 1962 and was an instant hit.

Harper Lee suffered a stroke in 2007, recovered and resumed her life in the hometown where she spent many of her 89 years. A guardedly private individual, Lee was respected and protected by residents of the town that displays Mockingbird-themed murals and each year stages theatrical productions of "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Lee returned to Monroeville for good once her sister Alice became ill and needed help. She'd eat breakfast each morning at the same fast-food place, and could later be seen picking up Alice from the law firm founded by their father.

Services for Lee have not been announced.


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: harperlee; harperleeobit; obituary; tokillamockingbird
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To: IronJack

It is my understanding that when Truman Capote set out to write “In Cold Blood”, Harper traveled with him as a research assistant.


21 posted on 02/19/2016 8:12:41 AM PST by KC Burke
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To: KC Burke

There have always been rumors that Capote wrote TKAM.


22 posted on 02/19/2016 8:14:02 AM PST by Borges
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To: Beowulf9
Just saw a comment by a guy who said she helped destroy the world by moral relativism.

subjectivism + relativism = anything goes

anything goes = libtardism morality of permissive morality, experimental lifestyles, and alternate lifestyles

23 posted on 02/19/2016 8:15:29 AM PST by mjp ((pro-{God, reality, reason, egoism, individualism, natural rights, limited government, capitalism}))
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To: Borges
Truman Capote was a neighbor and childhood friend of Harper Lee, and she helped him out with research on In Cold Blood.

As I recall, she actually went out to Kansas with Capote and helped him gain acceptance with the townsfolk.

24 posted on 02/19/2016 8:15:52 AM PST by IndyTiger
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To: Borges

RIP Nelle Harper Lee....


25 posted on 02/19/2016 8:16:30 AM PST by Gator113 (~~Go Trump Go~~ Just livin' life my way. Don't worry, everything is gonna be alright.)
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To: Borges
There have always been rumors that Capote wrote TKAM.

Which have been disproven over and over again.

26 posted on 02/19/2016 8:17:23 AM PST by DoodleDawg
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To: DoodleDawg

The title is based on a passage from scripture. I was surprised she was still alive to begin with at the time.


27 posted on 02/19/2016 8:17:45 AM PST by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
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To: Borges

I think Capote started that rumor.


28 posted on 02/19/2016 8:19:52 AM PST by CaptainK (...please make it stop. Shake a can of pennies at it.)
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To: Borges

Mary Badham as Scout?

How about Robert Duvall as Boo Radley?

https://www.google.com/search?q=Robert+Duvall+as+boo+radley&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8


29 posted on 02/19/2016 8:20:28 AM PST by Let's Roll (So much left-wing thought is playing with fire by those who don't even know fire is hot - Orwell)
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To: CaptainK

He wasn’t one to gossip though. jk


30 posted on 02/19/2016 8:20:39 AM PST by Borges
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To: Biggirl
The title is based on a passage from scripture

Isaiah 21: 6 "For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth;"

31 posted on 02/19/2016 8:23:31 AM PST by DoodleDawg
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To: Borges

Yes, he was so thoughtful and introspective and never one to hint that he wasn’t given enough credit for his talent.


32 posted on 02/19/2016 8:24:46 AM PST by CaptainK (...please make it stop. Shake a can of pennies at it.)
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To: Borges

There was a pillow on her head.

Da da da dum!


33 posted on 02/19/2016 8:31:13 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: SeekAndFind

That is to say— the “follow up” book so called of today’s promotion, “Go Set a Watchman” was the original first draft submission to the publisher who felt is was “not ready for publication” (as in- it had the protagonist as a klan supporter— like her daddy was, and the publisher thought the strong points more marketable for the time was the flashbacks of the daughter Scout) and rejected it at the time, resulting in a re-submission/editing of the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”. “Go Set a Watchman” was once promoted (as a sequel) to “To Kill a Mockingbird”, unsuccessfully until today’s atmosphere of political correctness.


34 posted on 02/19/2016 8:36:21 AM PST by John S Mosby (Sic Semper Tyrannis)
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To: zedee

“It seems pretty clear that the book should never have been released (and that Lee was very likely manipulated into agreeing to release it) “

I see nothing wrong with releasing weaker works by writers whose works have passed the test of time.

It is interesting to see and provides a perspective for readers who respect the masterpieces.

I would agree that it oughtn’t have been released a couple years after. But after 50, in a fully understood context, it’s of value and interest.


35 posted on 02/19/2016 8:37:50 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: Borges

Would not be the least bit surprised if Obama goes to HER funeral, gives a speech, and sheds a tear.


36 posted on 02/19/2016 8:38:38 AM PST by simpson96
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To: Borges

I’m assuming you’re not referring to Capote as a non-gossip. The man who wrote “La Cote Basque 1965”?


37 posted on 02/19/2016 8:39:10 AM PST by miss marmelstein (Richard the Third: With my own people alone I should like to drive away the Turks (Muslims))
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To: Borges

Ask anyone what JD Salinger is known for, and it won’t be “Franny and Zooey.” His short fiction is actually pretty good — much better than Updike’s, for example — but his only “good” novel was “Catcher.”


38 posted on 02/19/2016 8:39:18 AM PST by IronJack
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To: IronJack

Catcher is his only novel.


39 posted on 02/19/2016 8:40:03 AM PST by Borges
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To: Borges

The interesting facts are that it appears her editor is to have more credit than anyone understood. She could not have created TKAM without the editorial push. It seems clear to many that her recent book which came from a bank vault manuscript, was the original novel draft she submitted and was told to extensively re-write,

The editor led her through re-wites until we have TKAM as we know it. Without that guidance, she never produced anything else of worth. She had the “voice” but little else of the craft is my conclusion, unfair as that may be.


40 posted on 02/19/2016 8:40:12 AM PST by KC Burke
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