2015 Mary Murphy Company LLC/PBSHarper Lee probably wasn't expressly trying to drum up interest in her second book in..well, ever...
But the girl can't help it!
The first new photo in six years of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author has surfaced thanks to the documentary Harper Lee: American Masters, which has been updated ahead of the release of Go Set a Watchman, the 55-years-in-the-offing sequel to the 1960 classic To Kill a Mockingbird. (Which, incidentally, Lee wrote before Mockingbird.)
In the picture, taken in late June in her hometown of Monroeville, Ala., at the Prop & Gavel Restaurant, Lee is flanked by director Mary McDonagh Murphy and Joy Lee, described as the writer's friend and benefactor, hardback copy of the new book on the table before them.
The announcement that Lee's second (or first, really) book was finally being published after all these years set off quite a debate regarding whether the now 89-year-old author really wants it out there or if she was being manipulated by others.
Her attorney negotiated the deal and publishers have insisted that she is fully onboard, though the rejuvenated interest in Lee also resulted in an investigation into potential elder abuse at the assisted-living facility where she resides. No charges were ever filed.
Meanwhile, Go Set a Watchman, on sale July 14, is sure to be one of the summer's hottest books, regardless of the finished product. Though if Lee's previous work is anything to go on, we're safe in setting our expectations on "high" for this tale about a grown-up Scout Finch.
Harper Lee: American Masters, featuring Murphy's new insight on Lee, airs Friday night on PBS at 9 p.m., and Murphy will be doing a Reddit AMA this Saturday at 11 a.m. PT.