Lee, Harper

Go Set a Watchman

ISBN: 9780062409850
New York, NY, USA: HarperCollins, 2015. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. "You sowed the seeds in me, Atticus, and now it's coming home to you." (pg. 248). Go Set a Watchman, written by the indelible American author Harper Lee (1926-2016), published in July 2015, has an unusual backstory. Lee actually wrote it first, in the mid-1950s, before her American classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Her editor at the time, Therese von Hohoff Torrey, read the manuscript, was drawn to the flashback scenes of the narrator's childhood, and encouraged Lee to rewrite the story from the perspective of a young Scout. That reworking became To Kill a Mockingbird and this volume is best understood as an early draft or "parent" of Mockingbird rather than a true sequel, even though its story is set about 20 years later. It follows Mockingbird's protagonist, the now adult Jean Louise ("Scout") Finch as she returns from New York to visit her hometown of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1950s, against the backdrop of the civil rights era. Lee notoriously turned the character of Atticus Finch on its head by having the icon of moral courage & racial justice become a scourge holding segregationist & racist views. The manuscript itself also brought controversy as it was said to have been "discovered" by Lee's lawyer and released when Lee was 88, in poor health, and living in an assisted-living facility. Many questioned whether Lee, who had long said she'd never publish another book, genuinely consented. Controversies aside, Go Set a Watchman is valued as a fascinating window into how a masterpiece evolved and as a more complicated take on race & heroism. From the collection of the late, great George Bornstein (1941-2021), scholar, author & academician at the University of Michigan- a quintessential Man of Letters. Hardcover in Original unclipped First Issue Dust Jacket (with $27.99 price & "0715" printed at front flap): First Edition as stated at copyright page, first printing per number sequence thereon. A most collectible literary masterpiece continuation from one of America's most recognized authors, in its rarest contemporary form with very distinguished provenance. Book in relatively very fine condition with very mild rubbing to front cover along spine, otherwise substantially mint. Dust Jacket very fine with very mild age-toning mostly to fine edges of flaps, otherwise essentially mint. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #9216]

Price: $100.00 save 10% $90.00