Go Set a Watchman will be the first novel released by Harper Lee since To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee is “extremely hurt” by claims she was pressured into releasing a “lost” novel, her lawyer has told the New York Times.
Tonja Carter found the script for Go Set a Watchman among the 88-year-old author’s things last year.
Following the discovery, some people suggested Lee was manipulated into releasing the decades-old manuscript.
It will be the first book released by the American author since To Kill A Mockingbird in 1960s.
“Lee is a very strong, independent and wise woman who should be enjoying the discovery of her long-lost novel,” Ms Carter told the newspaper.
“Instead she is having to defend her own credibility and decision-making”.
On discovering the manuscript, Ms Carter had assumed it was another copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, unaware that Lee had ever penned another novel.
“I was so stunned. At the time I didn’t know if it was finished,” she said, adding that Lee had reportedly thought the manuscript had long been lost.
Written before To Kill A Mockingbird, it features many of the same characters, with an adult Scout Finch returning to her native Alabama from New York to visit her father.
Harper Lee is said to be “extremely hurt” by claims she has been pressured into publishing her second book
The lawyer said she was upset by the suggestion that she would exploit Lee.
“Nothing can describe how I feel. I am a lawyer, not a celebrity. The focus should be on the gift Harper Lee is giving the world.”
The publisher HarperCollins announced last week that it planned to publish Go Set a Watchman later this year, with an initial print run of two million …read more
Source:: BBC Entertainment
