Harper Lee is an American author. Also known as Nelle Harper Lee, she wrote only one book, To Kill a Mockingbird. She also contributed to Vogue and McCall’s magazines.
Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. Her father was a lawyer, whose name was Amasa Coleman Lee. Her mother was Frances Finch Lee. Her father was related to Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Harper Lee attended Huntington College (1944-45) and University of Alabama (1945-49). She also attended Oxford University, as an exchange student. She left the University of Alabama within four months of completing the requirements for a law degree to move to New York City to write. Many years later, she received honorary degrees from University of Alabama (1990) and Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama (1997).
She held positions as a reservation clerk for British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and Eastern Airlines in New York City in the 1950’s to support herself while writing. She was a member of the National Council on the Arts from 1966-1972. She enjoys golf and music.
To Kill a Mockingbird was published by Lippincott in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1960. The book received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961, and was made into a film starring Gregory Peck in 1962 which won an Oscar. To Kill a Mockingbird has received numerous other awards, including the Alabama Library Association Award (1961), the Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews (1961), and the Alabama Humanities Award (2002). Harper Lee received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2007). To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into ten languages.
The fictional events in To Kill a Mockingbird are based on Lee’s childhood experiences as the daughter of a lawyer in Alabama. A childhood friend was Truman Capote, who based one of his characters in his book Other Voices, Other Rooms on Lee. Lee’s character Dill Harris is based on Capote.
Harper Lee began a second novel in 1961, but it was never finished.
Harper Lee maintains an apartment in New York City, but lives with her older sister in Monroeville, Alabama.
Web Sites
- National Endowment for the Arts
- New York Times Article
- Internet Movie Database
- Truman Capote Obituary
Catalog
Search the library's catalog for Harper Lee.
Databases
Enter Harper Lee in these databases: