– FOX 29 has learned that famed author Harper Lee has died at the age of 89.
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Her death was confirmed by the mayor’s office in Monroeville, and by a local Alabama news website.
Lee, who won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for “Mockingbird”, published just two novels in her lifetime. The novel became an overnight classic and is still taught in most schools, although a long-lost prequel, Go Set a Watchman, published previous year cast Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, in a new light that many readers found disappointing. A guardedly private individual, Lee was respected and protected by residents of the town that displays Mockingbird-themed murals and each year stages theatrical productions of “To Kill a Mockingbird”.
To Kill a Mockingbird, with its epic narrative about a small town lawyer Atticus Finch’s battle to save the life of a black resident, sold millions of copies around the world.
The 304-page book was Lee’s second, and the first new work in more than 50 years.
Nelle Harper Lee was born in Monroeville on April 28, 1926, the youngest of four children.
Lee’s comments on “Mockingbird” over the years were few and far between. Upon returning, she dropped out and moved to NY to focus full-time on writing.
Lee, who suffered a serious stroke in 2007, rarely made public appearances.
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She outlived all three of her siblings, including attorney Alice Lee, who was instrumental in guarding the author’s privacy.
