A new collection of Harper Lee’s writing is coming later this year

Harper Lee, the acclaimed author who once professed her dream of being the “Jane Austen of South Alabama”, was known for restraint when it came to sharing work.

Throughout the course of Lee’s 89 years, she published only two novels. Now, a new collection of her stories and essays will be posthumously added to that bookshelf.

Three things to know:

1. The collection, called The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays, will be published by HarperCollins in October, and includes eight short stories that a young Lee wrote before focusing on her beloved To Kill a Mockingbird.
2. The stories span from Alabama to New York City, and cover themes like politics, equality, art, and the American South.
3. The typescripts, according to the press release, were discovered in Lee’s New York City apartment after her death in 2016.

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Why didn’t she write more?

That question was something that followed Lee her entire life, especially when her second novel, Go Set a Watchman, was published amid skepticism and controversy 55 years after her first.

That question was something that followed Lee her entire life, especially when she announced her second novel, Go Set a Watchman, 55 years after her first.

Wayne Flynt, her friend and professor emeritus at Auburn University, had a simple explanation for this when interviewed following Lee’s death:

“I suppose what I would say is that there are some writers who have one great story to tell and they tell that one great story.”

Dive deeper with NPR:

• Read more about Lee’s quiet life and giant impact on American literature.
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