哈珀·李

生平

哈珀·李在阿拉巴马州南部小镇长大，与著名作家杜鲁门·卡波特是童年好友。1944年，哈珀·李前往蒙哥马利就读亨廷顿学院（1944–45年），随后在阿拉巴马大学攻读法律（1945–49年）。

就读大学期间，她为学校文学杂志写作，向亨廷顿的《女猎手》和阿拉巴马大学的幽默杂志《夯土机》投稿。在两所大学中，她都写了有关种族歧视的作品，而这个主题在当时的校园内甚少为人讨论。

著作

1960年，出版《杀死一只知更鸟》。2015年，出版第二本小说《守望者》（Go Set a Watchman）。

Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926 – February 19, 2016) was an American novelist whose 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and became a classic of modern American literature. She assisted her close friend Truman Capote in his research for the book In Cold Blood (1966). An earlier draft of Mockingbird, set at a later date, Go Set a Watchman, was published in July 2015 as a sequel. A collection of her short stories and essays, The Land of Sweet Forever, was posthumously published on October 21, 2025.

The plot and characters of To Kill a Mockingbird are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family and neighbors in Monroeville, Alabama, as well as a childhood event that occurred near her hometown in 1936. The novel deals with racist attitudes and the irrationality of adult attitudes towards race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s as depicted through the eyes of two children.

Lee received numerous accolades and honorary degrees, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007, which was awarded for her contribution to literature.

Early life

Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama, the youngest of four children of Frances Cunningham (née Finch) and Amasa Coleman Lee. Her parents chose her middle name, Harper, to honor pediatrician Dr. William W. Harper, of Selma, who had saved the life of her sister Louise. Her first name, Nelle, was her grandmother's name spelled backwards and the name she used, whereas Harper Lee was primarily her pen name. Lee's mother was a homemaker;……

To Kill a Mockingbird

I never expected any sort of success with Mockingbird. I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of the reviewers, but at the same time I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement. Public encouragement. I hoped for a little, as I said, but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways this was just about as frightening as the quick, merciful death I'd expected.

Origin

In the spring of 1957, a 31-year-old Lee delivered the manuscript for Go Set a Watchman to Crain to send out to publishers, including the now-defunct J.……

After To Kill a Mockingbird

Middle years

For 40 years, Lee lived part-time at 433 East 82nd Street in Manhattan, near her childhood friend Capote. His first novel, the semi-autobiographical Other Voices, Other Rooms, had been published in 1948; a decade later Capote published Breakfast at Tiffany's, which became a film, a musical, and two stage plays.……

Death

Lee died in her sleep on the morning of February 19, 2016, aged 89. Prior to her death, she lived in Monroeville, Alabama. On February 20, her funeral was held at First United Methodist Church in Monroeville. The service was attended by close family and friends, and the eulogy was given by Wayne Flynt.

Fictional portrayals

Harper Lee was portrayed by Catherine Keener, who received nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film Capote (2005), by Sandra Bullock in the film Infamous (2006), and by Tracey Hoyt in the TV movie Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story (1998). In the adaptation of Truman Capote's novel Other Voices, Other Rooms (1995), the character of Idabel Thompkins, who was inspired by Capote's memories of Lee as a child, was played by Aubrey Dollar.

Works

Books

To Kill a Mockingbird. J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1960.

Go Set a Watchman. HarperCollins. 2015.

The Land of Sweet Forever. HarperCollins. 2025.

Articles

"Love—in Other Words". Vogue. April 15, 1961.

"Christmas to Me". McCall's. December 1961.

"Crackling Bread" in The Artists' & Writers' Cookbook. Contact Editions. 1961.

"When Children Discover America". McCall's. August 1965.

Essay on Truman Capote, published in the Book of the Month Club newsletter. January 1966.