Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2016 13:22:46 GMT 7
In her final interview Harper Lee, who died yesterday aged 89, spoke of her shock at the success of To Kill A Mockingbird, her seminal novel.
“I never expected any sort of success with Mockingbird,” she said. “Public encouragement, I hoped for a little, but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways this was just about as frightening.”
That was in 1964. And, for the remainder of her life, Lee avoided the spotlight – preferring a quiet life at home with her long-time friends and family in Alabama.
It was there, in the small town of Monroeville - the setting for the fictional Maycomb of the novel - that she passed away in her sleep on Friday morning, leaving a community in mourning.
"This is a sad day for our family. America and the world knew Harper Lee as one of the last century's most beloved authors," Hank Conner, Lee's nephew, said 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. We will miss her dearly."
To Kill a Mockingbird won her the 1961 Pulitzer Prize, and was turned into a 1962 film starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. It bought her immense acclaim and worldwide recognition.
“Harper Lee was ahead of her time, and her masterpiece To Kill A Mockingbird prodded America to catch up with her,” said George W. Bush, who presented her with the presidential medal of freedom in 2007. Paying tribute to her yesterday, he said: “This daughter of Alabama had something to say about honour and tolerance and, most of all, love – and it still resonates.”
Continues:
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/12165334/To-Kill-a-Mockingbird-author-Harper-Lee-dies-aged-89-reports-say-latest-news-and-reaction.html
“I never expected any sort of success with Mockingbird,” she said. “Public encouragement, I hoped for a little, but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways this was just about as frightening.”
That was in 1964. And, for the remainder of her life, Lee avoided the spotlight – preferring a quiet life at home with her long-time friends and family in Alabama.
It was there, in the small town of Monroeville - the setting for the fictional Maycomb of the novel - that she passed away in her sleep on Friday morning, leaving a community in mourning.
"This is a sad day for our family. America and the world knew Harper Lee as one of the last century's most beloved authors," Hank Conner, Lee's nephew, said 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. We will miss her dearly."
To Kill a Mockingbird won her the 1961 Pulitzer Prize, and was turned into a 1962 film starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. It bought her immense acclaim and worldwide recognition.
“Harper Lee was ahead of her time, and her masterpiece To Kill A Mockingbird prodded America to catch up with her,” said George W. Bush, who presented her with the presidential medal of freedom in 2007. Paying tribute to her yesterday, he said: “This daughter of Alabama had something to say about honour and tolerance and, most of all, love – and it still resonates.”
Continues:
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/12165334/To-Kill-a-Mockingbird-author-Harper-Lee-dies-aged-89-reports-say-latest-news-and-reaction.html
