You have 2 free articles left this month.
Become a Premium Member to enjoy a wide range of benefits.
You have 2 free articles left this month.

Lawyers Weekly - legal news for Australian lawyers

Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA
lawyers weekly logo
SME Law

Long-awaited ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ sequel found by lawyer

The world has waited 54 years for internationally-renowned author Harper Lee to release a new novel and now, thanks to an Alabama lawyer, that wait is over.

February 06, 2015 By Felicity Nelson
To Kill a Mockingbird
expand image

Folklaw thinks it is only fitting that the midwife of the long-anticipated text belongs to the same profession as Scout’s hero, her father, Atticus Finch.

Tonja Brooks Carter is very close to the Lee family and is also helping the author liaise with her publishers. She was the lawyer of Harper's sister, Alice Lee, who died recently at the age of 103.

Harper’s editor at HarperCollins Publishers, Hugh Van Dusen, spoke to New York Magazine about the the lawyer's discovery, saying that, in the version of the story he was told, the book was kept in a safe deposit box or a bank vault wrapped in a manuscript of To Kill a Mockingbird.

“Nobody noticed it for all these years. I don’t know this for a fact, but one must imagine that Harper Lee … just never told anybody about the book and then forgot it existed,” she said.

HarperCollins Publishers plans to publish Go Set a Watchman in mid-July. The book tells the story of Scout’s later life but was written before To Kill a Mockingbird

Tonja started working at Alice’s law firm, Barnett, Bugg, Lee & Carter, shortly after graduating in 2006. She also played a role in a law suit filed against Harper’s former agent Samuel Pinkus in 2013. Samuel was allegedly involved in a plot to dupe Harper into handing over the copyright of To Kill a Mockingbird without compensation.

Harper has, to date, published only one book during her lifetime but was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution to literature.

A very private woman, Harper has made very few public appearances and declined almost all interview requests. She is now 88-years old and lives in an assisted-living facility in Monroeville, Alabama due to her difficulty hearing and seeing.

Comments (0)
    Avatar
    Attach images by dragging & dropping or by selecting them.
    The maximum file size for uploads is MB. Only files are allowed.
     
    The maximum number of 3 allowed files to upload has been reached. If you want to upload more files you have to delete one of the existing uploaded files first.
    The maximum number of 3 allowed files to upload has been reached. If you want to upload more files you have to delete one of the existing uploaded files first.
    Posting as
    You need to be a member to post comments. Become a member today
    Got a tip for us?
    If you have any news tips or stories to share, feel free to send them our way.
    Momentum Media Logo
    Most Innovative Company