# Harper Lee - New novel coming **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 3, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721 "2015-02-03T16:18:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/1 "2015-02-03T16:18:59Z")
[http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/03/harper-lee-new-novel-to-kill-a-mockingbird](http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/03/harper-lee-new-novel-to-kill-a-mockingbird) I don’t know how to feel about this. To Kill a Mockingbird was a lightning bolt to be sure, but I also think time and place played a huge part in making it what it has become. And I’m not saying it doesn’t deserve the accolades it got. I don’t see how a follow-up, no matter how well composed, can compare favorably. I expect it will end up as just another book. I’ll be getting it know matter what the reviews are. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/2 "2015-02-03T16:25:40Z")
I’m excited to read it, but reining in any expectations I may have based on the high quality of “Mockingbird”. Like many of us out there, I view the characters as old friends and a chance to revisit them and see how their lives unfolded will be welcome. If it’s excellent, I’m more than willing to be pleasantly surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/3 "2015-02-03T16:28:37Z")
I think Penguin Random House, the publisher, should make every effort to make it clear that this book was actually written before _To Kill a Mockingbird_. It is, in fact, a “lost book” that has since been found. _Go Set a Watchman_ takes place after _To Kill a Mockingbird_, but wasn’t written as a sequel – the latter was actually a prequel. I’m happy that it’s happening. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/4 "2015-02-03T16:34:51Z")
I’m reading it. You’re reading it. We’re all reading it! I wonder if she’ll do something massively cool like donate most of the zillion dollars this takes in to create scholarships. Or - just buy Alabama. Re-write the constitution and make it a great place for diversity and equality. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/5 "2015-02-03T16:43:14Z")
I am eager to read this book. Based on the description in the linked story, and when it was written, I think there is good reason to have pretty high expectations. I don’t expect it to be better than Mockingbird, but I expect to really enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/6 "2015-02-03T16:53:05Z")
She always said she only had one story worth telling and I fully believe her. Extremely low hopes / outright thinking this is horrifying news on my part. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/7 "2015-02-03T17:01:46Z")
Dang. I just saw this on the newsfeed, and here it is already. Should have known Dopers would be on the case. Where do I pre-order this? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/8 "2015-02-03T17:04:46Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I’m reading it. You’re reading it. We’re all reading it! Yep. If it were a sequel she wrote in one drunken weekend called _Fifty Shades of Scout_ we’d still read it. Since it was begun in the 1950s I think it might not be bad. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/9 "2015-02-03T17:10:55Z")
I knew she’d catch up to John Kennedy Toole eventually… ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Quixotic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Don\_Quixotic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Quixotic)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/10 "2015-02-03T17:13:24Z")
I am worried that it will seem dated since it was written 50yrs ago. I am very much looking forward to reading it, and, yeah, I just saw the item in my news feed and already there is a thread on it and Sampiro has posted in it. Gotta love this community. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/11 "2015-02-03T17:26:30Z")
> [@Gordon\_Urquhart](#): > > I think Penguin Random House, the publisher, should make every effort to make it clear that this book was actually written before _To Kill a Mockingbird_. It is, in fact, a “lost book” that has since been found. 😕 Lost how? [Harper Lee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper_Lee) is, believe it or not, still alive. ---
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/12 "2015-02-03T17:28:11Z")
Wow, that is exciting news. “To Kill a Mockingbird” had more of a profound effect on me than any other novel - looking forward to catching up with Scout as an adult. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/13 "2015-02-03T17:29:54Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 😕 Lost how? [Harper Lee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper_Lee) is, believe it or not, still alive. End of the third and beginning of the fourth graf of the linked Guardian story indicates that Lee (who I’m well aware is still alive) thought the novel lost. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/14 "2015-02-03T17:32:47Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Where do I pre-order this? > **[Go Set a Watchman: A Novel - Kindle edition by Lee, Harper. Literature &...](https://www.amazon.com/Go-Set-Watchman-Harper-Lee-ebook/dp/B00T3DNKIE)** > > Go Set a Watchman: A Novel - Kindle edition by Lee, Harper. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Go Set a Watchman: A Novel. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/15 "2015-02-03T17:33:06Z")
It will be interesting to see if the Dill character appears in the novel and if so, how he compares to the person that was his alleged inspiration. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/16 "2015-02-03T17:35:36Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > I don’t see how a follow-up, no matter how well composed, can compare favorably. I expect it will end up as just another book. I’m super excited because it’s not actually a follow-up, as it was written BEFORE _Mockingbird_. But it takes place after _Mockingbird_, with the same characters. So it’s a sequel to what was the prequel, but nobody knew the other was a prequel. And this new one is actually the first in the “series.” My mind is blown! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/17 "2015-02-03T17:43:06Z")
So, does this mean we’ll also see a prequel/sequel [_Get Smart_ episode](http://getsmart.wikia.com/wiki/Tequila_Mockingbird)? ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/18 "2015-02-03T17:44:30Z")
And you’ll see us all again in To Kill A Mocking Bird 2: The Search for More Money ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/19 "2015-02-03T17:53:15Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > And you’ll see us all again in To Kill A Mocking Bird 2: The Search for More Money She’s 88, has earned millions from _Mockingbird_, and lives in a very modest ranch style house with her sister. Her sister who lived with her until her death in November was literally a lawyer until she was 100 years old, and Harper was her sole heir, so I doubt money’s her motivation. Now for the publishers, it probably is. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721/20 "2015-02-03T18:27:02Z")
There’s a joke in here about 2 Birds with one stone, but I can’t make it work. I find it interesting that [Nell] Harper Lee and Truman Capote were friends and both essentially known for one and only one book each. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harper-lee-new-novel-coming/711721.md?page=2)