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Birth
Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama. -
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Life Of Harper Lee
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Graduates High School and Off to College
In high school, Lee developed an interest in English literature. After graduating in 1944, she went to the all-female Huntingdon College in Montgomery. Lee stood apart from the other students—she couldn't have cared less about fashion, makeup or dating. Instead, she focused on her studies and on her writing. -
Moving to NYC
In 1949, a 23-year-old Lee arrived in New York City. -
Lee Gets Funded
In 1956, the Browns gave Lee an impressive Christmas present—to support her for a year so that she could write full time. She quit her job and devoted herself to her craft. The Browns also helped her find an agent, Maurice Crain. He, in turn, was able to get the publishing firm interested in her work. Working with editor Tay Hohoff, Lee worked on a manuscript set in a small Alabama town, which eventually became her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. -
Lee Works W/ Truman
Later that year, Lee joined forces with old friend Truman Capote to assist him with an article he was writing for The New Yorker. -
Interview A Killer
During their time in Kansas, the Clutters' suspected killers, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, were caught in Las Vegas and brought back for questioning. Lee and Capote got a chance to interview the suspects not long after their arraignment in January 1960. -
To Kill A Mockingbird Is Published
Soon Lee was engrossed in her literary success story. In July 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird was published and picked up by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Literary Guild. A condensed version of the story appeared in Reader's Digest magazine. The work's central character, a young girl nicknamed Scout, was not unlike Lee in her youth. In one of the book's major plotlines, Scout and her brother Jem and their friend Dill explore their fascination with a mysterious and somewhat infamous neighborhood -
Film Made For the Book
Horton Foote wrote a screenplay based on the book and used the same title for the 1962 film adaptation. -
Lee Starts on Another Novel
By the mid-1960s, Lee was reportedly working on another novel, but it was never published. Continuing to help Capote, Lee worked with him on and off on In Cold Blood. She had been invited by Smith and Hickock to witness their execution in 1965, but she declined. When Capote's book was finally published in 1966, a rift developed between the two friends and collaborators. Capote dedicated the book to Lee and to his longtime lover, Jack Dunphy, but failed to acknowledge her contributions to the wor -
New Novel Published
By the mid-1960s, Lee was reportedly working on another novel, but it was never published. Continuing to help Capote, Lee worked with him on and off on In Cold Blood. She had been invited by Smith and Hickock to witness their execution in 1965, but she declined. When Capote's book was finally published in 1966, a rift developed between the two friends and collaborators. Capote dedicated the book to Lee and to his longtime lover, Jack Dunphy, but failed to acknowledge her contributions to the wor -
She becomes Private and Away From Public Life
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Bush Presented An Award to Lee
In November 2007, President George W. Bush presented Lee with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her "outstanding contribution to America's literary tradition" at a ceremony at the White House. -
Medical Problems
In 2007, Lee also suffered a stroke and struggled with various ongoing health issues including hearing loss, limited vision and problems with her short-term memory. After the stroke, Lee moved into an assisted living facility in Monroeville. Her sister Alice once said about Lee, "Books are the things she cares about." With the assistance of a magnifying device — necessary due to her macular degeneration — Lee has been able to keep reading despite her ailments. -
Legal Issues
In May 2013, Lee filed a lawsuit in federal court against literary agent, Samuel Pinkus. Lee charged that, in 2007, Pinkus "engaged in a scheme to dupe" her out of the copyright to To Kill a Mockingbird, later diverting royalties from the work. In September 2013, a settlement was reached in the lawsuit. -
Report Published
In February 2015, it was announced that HarperCollins would publish the manuscript on July 14, 2015.