In Search of Harper Lee - A Curious Visit to Monroeville, Alabama

Signs Outside Courthouse

With the ink still wet on the first edition printing of Harper Lee's first book -- Go Set a Watchman -- I set out myself to the historic town of Monroeville, which is billed as "The literary capital of Alabama." So many great writers have come from the little town (Nelle Harper Lee, Truman Capote, Mark Childress, etc), it is impossible to dispute its self-given title. As I strolled its Southern-baked streets, I felt as though I was living history.

Monroeville, Alabama Courthouse

The Monroeville courthouse took my breath away as I turned the corner. The film of To Kill a Mockingbird was not filmed there, but a nearly exact replica was used for the Hollywood soundstage of the film. I expected to find the place jam packed with visitors, but there were only a few. This meant I was able to get great shots of the interior of the courthouse. If only those pews could speak!

Center Aisle of Monroeville Courthouse

I was also surprise that the town was not charging for admittance into the courthouse. I gladly would have paid $20 or more for the chance to get inside. In the gift shop I overheard a guy saying that his grandfather knew Harper Lee. It seemed that everyone I met in Alabama had a connection to Harper or Monroeville.

What is Left of Truman Capote's Childhood Home

The remains of Truman Capote's house were also cool to see. To me he was the best writer to come from the little town. Next to the stones of Capote's house is an ice cream shop that sits on the grounds of Lee's childhood home. On the day I visited it appeared out of place, foreign, a sugary intruder of literary heritage. How both homes were not preserved is a tragedy.

Ice Cream Shop Where Harper Lee's Home Used to Sit

I never did run across Harper Lee. She is in a rest home in Monroeville. But I felt her presence there just the same as if she was standing next to me. She will always be there.

#HarperLee #GoSetaWatchman #TrumanCapote

"Go Set a Watchman" - The Sequel-Prequel of "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Today Harper Lee announced that she will publish in July a sequel to her only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In my mind that immediately set off an alarming question:Has Ole Harper really been pecking away for the past sixty+ years on this sequel? Is she pulling a J.D. Salinger on us?

My first reaction, however, was a sigh of relief; not so much because of the new work being published, but rather proof that the rumors could be put to rest that Truman Capote, a good friend of Harper Lee, did not write all or large parts of "To Kill a Mockingbird." How could we have a new book from Ole Harper if Capote has been dead these 30 years? Literary affirmation is at hand! I thought to myself. This was immediately followed by wonder as to how similar her writing style would be after all these decades. Would it be less dense? Choppier? More verbose?

But my mind had raced too fast as it often does for all things literary. As I read further I learned that "Go Set a Watchman" was penned in the 1950s and actually written before "To Kill a Mockingbird." It is a sequel-prequel, if you will. Apparently "Go Set a Watchman" was tabled and "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published to great success. An agent recently found the old manuscript of "Go Set a Watchman" and dusted it off. Even Ole Harper thought it was gone forever.

The story is almost too good to be true. Hmmm.

What all this means is that since "Go Set a Watchman" was written in the 1950s, the question of whether Capote wrote it, too, will remain. So many lingering questions remain. Why is this the first time the world has heard of the manuscript? Why didn't Ole Harper publish it right after the wild success of "To Kill a Mockingbird"? How could she apparently forget all about the first novel she wrote, especially when it is shackled alongside "To Kill a Mockingbird"? How could she misplace the only copy of it and not sound alarm bells when it went missing?

Unless it was Capote's.

Yes, all these questions seem more plausibly answered if Capote wrote large parts or all of "Go Set a Watchman" the sequel-prequel of "To Kill a Mockingbird." Perhaps. Just perhaps.