Go Set a Watchman

(Harper Lee, award-winning author of To Kill a Mockingbird)

The world of literature is an endearing and magical place, but it can sometimes be a little slow. We've all had those days where we don't have anything to read, and we aren't looking forward to any up-and-coming books, because our favorite authors haven't written anything new in a while.

This, my friends, is not that day.

A few weeks ago, Harper Lee--the renowned author of To Kill a Mockingbird--announced that she would be publishing a second novel.

And if that isn't exciting enough, it turns out that To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the greatest works of American literature, is the sequel to this new book.

Apparently, Ms. Lee had written a novel before she wrote Mockingbird. That novel featured Scout Finch, the young heroine in Mockingbird, as an adult. Her publisher was moved by the book's flashbacks into Scout's girlhood, and persuaded Lee to write an entire book dedicated to young Scout. And thus, To Kill a Mockingbird was born.

Years later, an acquaintance of Lee's rediscovered a manuscript of what has been dubbed Harper Lee's "lost" novel, and persuaded her to publish it. There are several claims that the woman who discovered this manuscript, Tonja Carter, manipulated Harper Lee into publishing the book, but these claims have yet to be proven.

This novel, the prequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, is called Go Set a Watchman.

Today, the covers of Go Set a Watchman were released. This is the cover to be sold in the United States:

This is the cover to be released in the United Kingdom:

PRETTY COOL, right?

I, for one, am thrilled to soon have this new novel. Of course, if the claims as to Ms. Carter's manipulation of Ms. Lee prove to be true, I will be incredibly angry. But until then, I am simply excited to read the first completed novel of Harper Lee.

When do readers ever have the opportunity to find out how their favorite characters fared after they turn the last page? Hardly ever. That, paired with the fact that these favorite characters belong to one of the most influential texts in history, is what makes Go Set a Watchman the most anticipated novel of the decade.

#harperlee #gosetawatchman #tokillamockingbird