Harper Lee

Harper Lee (1926–2016) was an iconic American novelist best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, a timeless exploration of justice, morality, and racial inequality in the American South. Born Nelle Harper Lee on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama, Lee grew up in a small Southern town that inspired the fictional Maycomb, the setting of her celebrated novel.

Lee attended Huntingdon College and later studied law at the University of Alabama but left before completing her degree to pursue her passion for writing. In the 1950s, she moved to New York City, where she worked as an airline reservations agent while writing her first novel. With the encouragement of friends and support from a literary agent, Lee completed To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960 to immediate critical acclaim.

The novel, set during the Great Depression, follows the moral awakening of Scout Finch as her father, lawyer Atticus Finch, defends a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. The book’s profound themes, compelling characters, and Lee’s skillful storytelling cemented it as a classic of American literature, earning her a Pulitzer Prize in 1961.

Despite her literary success, Lee lived a private life, shunning the spotlight. She published only one other novel in her lifetime, Go Set a Watchman (2015), which was initially written as an earlier draft of To Kill a Mockingbird and offers an alternate perspective on its characters and themes.

Harper Lee’s legacy extends beyond her literary achievements. Her work has inspired generations to confront social injustice and aspire to empathy and integrity. Lee passed away on February 19, 2016, in her hometown of Monroeville, leaving behind a singular literary legacy that continues to resonate worldwide.