Lee, Harper: 1926 - 2016

Information about Harper Lee

  • Facts
    • Information from Wikipedia
    • Brief biography read by Suzan Deaton. Can be used as listening comprehension exercise
      • Transcript
        Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama on April 28, 1926. She is the youngest of four children. One of her childhood friends is Truman Capote, the author of "In Cold Blood" and "Breakfat at Tiffany's." Harper Lee attended Huntingdon College (1944-45), studied law at University of Alabama (1945-49), and also studied one year at Oxford University.

        In the 1950s Harper Lee worked as a reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and BOAC in New York. But in order to concentrate on writing she gave up her position with the airline. Rumor has it that it was Truman Capote who urged her to write.

        In 1957 Miss Lee submitted the manuscript of her novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" to the J. B. Lippincott Company. She was told that her novel consisted of a series of short stories strung together, and that she should re-write it. For the next two and a half years she re-worked the manuscript. In 1960 "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published, her only published book. Miss Lee prefers to keep her life private; she does not give interviews and very little is known about her private life.

        Miss Lee has received a number of honorary doctorates. She seems to divide her time now between New York and Monroeville.

        (Harper Lee died in her sleep on the morning of February 19, 2016, aged 89.)

    • Timeline
  • Lee's Life
  • Articles
    • Audio (5:13)
      The Measure of Harper Lee: A Life Shaped by a Towering Text. Hank Conner, Lee's nephew, announced in a statement. "We knew her as Nelle Harper Lee, a loving member of our family, a devoted friend to the many good people who touched her life, and a generous soul in our community and our state." NPR; February 19, 2016
      Transcript
    • Book Discussion on The Mockingbird Next Door; July 23, 2014. Marja Mills talked about her book, The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee, in which she discusses the life, career, and opinions of Harper Lee.
    • Video (51:18)
      Mary Murphy discusses her book with librarian and NPR commentator Nancy Pearl and shows clips of the interviews she did for her documentary and accompanying book. C-SPAN; June 26, 2010
    • Charles J. Shields talks about writing his biography: "Mockingbird, A Portrait of Harper Lee", 2006
  • Second Novel
  • Obituaries