Harper Lee’s Lost Novel

Harper Lee is of course known for ” To Kill a Mockingbird”, her one and only novel which was published in 1960 and became a classic. A searing depiction of race relations in the South of those times, it was ground breaking in the way that Uncle Tom’s Cabin had been a century earlier. It was all the more remarkable for having been written before the civil rights movement and that too by an author from the Deep South. It helped shape the views of a generation and brought a new awareness of the deplorable state of civil rights in the South.
In the fifty years since, Harper Lee never published another work and the public had given up on hearing from this gifted author. Then, last year word came out about the discovery of ” Go Set a Watchman”, a novel written prior to To Kill a Mockingbird, ( hereinafter Mockingbird) . The novel appears to be the original draft of Mockingbird, one that had been rejected by Lee’s editor back in the fifties and which Lee refashioned into the novel that she is famous for. Go Set a Watchman is written in the voice of a grown up Scout and ( I think) it covers the same events as Mockingbird.
Naturally, a new novel by Harper Lee is pure gold to the publishing industry ; its commercial success is guaranteed. A publisher, Harper Collins, is on board and it is expected the novel will be published this summer. However, there is some murkiness surrounding the provenance of this new novel. Harper Lee suffered a stroke in 2007; now 88 and in failing health, she lives in an assisted living home and there are many who question whether she is aware of the brouhaha surrounding this new novel. They worry that she may not want it to be published because she may feel that it cannot possibly live up to the standard set by Mockingbird, and that she may not be in a position to make a rational decision. Ranged against these critics are Miss Lee’s lawyer, Tonja B. Carter, her literary agent, the publisher and others who say that Miss Lee is perfectly capable of making decisions and that it is her right to have the novel published. Alabama’s Human Resources Department interviewing Miss Lee, her caregivers and friends and is expected to rule on the matter soon.
So, to publish … or not to publish…
Personally, I think Watchman will be published. I also do not think it will be a critical success. How can it be? If this is a rejected first draft, it cannot possibly be the caliber as Mockingbird. Also, fifty years later, much has changed even in the South and the topics that Mockingbird brought to the fore are no longer as compelling. At best, Watchman may be interesting to scholars and critics who can study the genesis of a masterpiece. For others, it will have only curiosity value. To think of Watchman as a new work by Harper Lee is disingenuous.
At the same time, I do not find myself sympathetic to those who argue that the publication of Watchman will be harmful to Miss Lee’s reputation. Her place in American literature is secure. She will forever be known for To Kill a Mockingbird. Also, I do not know Miss lee’s financial circumstances. Assisted living homes are expensive and perhaps publication of this book will make he circumstances more comfortable, shore up her finances. Others may benefit more from the publication but she will too. If it makes her remaining years more comfortable, why not?