Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" became one of the most beloved books in US literary history. Here are seven facts about Lee, who died at the age of 89:
* She went by Harper, her middle name, because she was afraid her first name, Nelle, would be mispronounced as "Nellie," not "Nell."
* Lee based the "To Kill a Mockingbird" character Dill on childhood friend Truman Capote, who in turn used her as the basis for a character in his "Other Voices, Other Rooms."
* "To Kill a Mockingbird," published in 1960, won the Pulitzer Prize the following year, but Conrad Richter's "The Waters of Kronos" beat her out for the National Book Award.
* Lee's fans were stunned to learn 55 years after publication of the novel of a long-stashed manuscript written before "To Kill a Mockingbird" and even more stunned that Atticus, the hero of the first book, was portrayed as a segregationist in "Go Set a Watchman." Atticus was based on Lee's father.
* Lee and actor Gregory Peck became friends during the filming of "To Kill a Mockingbird." She remained close to his family and Peck's grandson, Harper Peck Voll, is named for her.
* "To Kill a Mockingbird" created a cottage industry in her hometown, Monroeville, Alabama, with a museum dedicated to it, although Lee filed a lawsuit claiming it was selling unlicensed merchandise, such as "To Kill a Mockingbird" beverage coasters.
* Actresses Sandra Bullock ("Infamous" in 2006) and Catherine Keener ("Capote" in 2005) portrayed Lee in movies about the writing of Capote's "In Cold Blood."
* She went by Harper, her middle name, because she was afraid her first name, Nelle, would be mispronounced as "Nellie," not "Nell."
* Lee based the "To Kill a Mockingbird" character Dill on childhood friend Truman Capote, who in turn used her as the basis for a character in his "Other Voices, Other Rooms."
* Lee's fans were stunned to learn 55 years after publication of the novel of a long-stashed manuscript written before "To Kill a Mockingbird" and even more stunned that Atticus, the hero of the first book, was portrayed as a segregationist in "Go Set a Watchman." Atticus was based on Lee's father.
Advertisement
* "To Kill a Mockingbird" created a cottage industry in her hometown, Monroeville, Alabama, with a museum dedicated to it, although Lee filed a lawsuit claiming it was selling unlicensed merchandise, such as "To Kill a Mockingbird" beverage coasters.
Advertisement
© Thomson Reuters 2016
COMMENTS
Advertisement
When The World Mourned: 10 Extraordinary Lives That Left A Mark Harper Lee Hated The Trump Taj Mahal 'Mockingbird' Author Harper Lee Buried In Alabama Hometown Tear Gas Fired After Kolkata Protest Against Doctor's Rape-Murder Turns Violent 150 mg Semen In Kolkata Doctor's Body, Suspect Gang-Rape: Parents To Court 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing Bangladeshi Students On Alert, To Remain On Streets To Resist Chaos India's 78th Independence Day: A Tribute By Google Doodle "Full Of Negativity...": PM Slams Opposition In Independence Day Speech Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.