Harper Lee Has Died at 89

Christy Bowe/ZUMA

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Harper Lee, the iconic author of To Kill a Mockingbird, has died at the age of 89. Lee’s death was confirmed by a city clerk in Monroeville, Alabama, the New York Times reports. The mayor of Monroeville also confirmed the news.

To Kill a Mockingbird won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961.

In 2015, more than five decades after To Kill a Mockingbird was published, her second novel, titled Go Set a Watchman, was released, after a 304-page manuscript following up on the classic was discovered.

“I was born in a little town called Monroeville, Alabama, on April 28, 1926,” she said in an interview in 1964. “I went to school in the local grammar school, went to high school there, and then went to the University of Alabama. That’s about it, as far as education goes.”

Reflecting on the overwhelming success of To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee said in a 1964 radio interview that she never expected it and instead had hoped the book would be well received enough to inspire her to write more. “I got rather a whole lot [of encouragement], and in some ways this was just about as frightening as the quick, merciful death I’d expected.”

This is a breaking news post. We will update soon as more information becomes available.


If you buy a book using our Bookshop link, a small share of the proceeds supports our journalism.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate