Harper Lee

Family Background
Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville Alabama.
With three other siblings, she was the youngest to be born to Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Finch Lee.

Education
She attended Huntingdon College 1944-45, studied law at the University of Alabama 1945-49, and studied one year at Oxford University.

Work
In the 1950s she worked as a reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and BOAC in New York City. After deciding to concentrate on her writing, she quitted her jobs. In 1957 Lee submitted the manuscript of her novel to the J. B. Lippincott Company. After being instructed to rewrite it, Lee worked on it for two and a half more years. Finally in 1960, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, her only book, was published. She wrote two articles titled "Love In Other Words" in Vogue and "Christmas To Me" in McCalls.

In June of 1966, Harper Lee was one of two persons named by President Johnson to the National Council of Arts.

Books/Novels written
1960 – To Kill A Mocking Bird
1961 – Love --- In Other Words
1961 – Christmas To Me
1965 – When Children Discover America

How was "To Kill A Mocking Bird" significant to Harper Lee?
-The story depicted her life. The main character, Scout was very much like her as she was also a tomboy when she was young.

-Dill on the other hand was modeled on her childhood friend, Truman Capote. Truman Capote lived next to Harper Lee when she was young too, like in the story. They were also best friends since young

-The fictional Jem was also four years than her in the story as he is in real life.

-She got to witnessed the incident through her father, Amasa Coleman Lee, who was an attorney who tried to protect two innocent black man accused of murder.

-Another reason why the book was so important to her was also because she experienced the racial tension during that time.

-She wanted to use the book as a platform to show how racists the white people were towards the black people.

-She witnessed the death sentence of the innocent black man and was greatly mortified as she knew that the black man was innocent.

Hope you guys absorbed something from this!
Cleon