Harper Lee

• Born: April 28, 1926• Monroeville, Alabama• Youngest of 4 children• A recluse• Still alive at age 86 and living in Monroeville.

Harper LeeHer father, Amasa Coleman Lee was a

descendant of General Robert E. Lee.

He was a lawyer for the Alabama State Legislature.

Her mother was rarely ever seen and it is believed she suffered from bipolar disease.

Her name was Francis Cunningham Finch and Harper uses all 3 names as characters in her novel.

Harper Lee

Childhood:• Her full name is Nelle Harper Lee.

She was named for her grandmother whose name is spelled backward.

• Harper was a tomboy like the main character in her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.

• Her childhood friend was Truman Capote. He grew up to become a very famous writer also.

Harper Lee

Harper and Truman’s Relationship• Harper was stronger than

most boys her age and protected her friend, Truman.

• Truman was picked on for being a sissy and wearing fancy clothes.

• Things in common: difficult home life.

• Truman lived with his relatives when he was abandoned by his own parents.

Harper LeeIn 1959, Harper went to Kansas to help Truman research his novel, In Cold Blood.

Harper LeeInspiration for the Novel

• Her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama

• Her father’s law career and unsuccessful defense of a black man and his son accused of murder.

• The ongoing Scottsboro Trials• Her friend, Truman Capote

Harper LeeAtticus

• She first called this novel “Atticus”

• Atticus Finch is the father and lawyer in the novel.

• He is named after Titus Pomponius Atticus, a friend of the Roman orator Cicero who was “a wise , learned and humane man” according to Lee.

Harper LeeTo Kill a Mockingbird is her first and only novel. It was on the bestseller list for 88 weeks.She won the Pulitzer Prize with her first novel!Harper Lee received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007 for her outstanding contribution to literature!