Harper Lee, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author from Monroeville, has died at the age of 89. Her 1961 book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” won her critical acclaim as an author and was made into a movie. The book won numerous awards for its depiction of racism in a small Alabama town.
Last year, HarperCollins published Lee’s long-awaited second novel “Go Set a Watchman,” initially billed as a sequel to “To Kill a Mockingbird,” that was actually written before “Mockingbird” and is generally thought to be a first draft of that novel.
Gov. Robert Bentley on Friday issued a statement.
“Today, we mourn the loss of Alabama’s treasured author Nelle Harper Lee. Harper Lee’s literary impact reaches far beyond the borders of our state and nation. ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ has impacted people around the world,” said Bentley.
“Lee’s voice in the literary world will be sorely missed,” said Angela Fisher Hall, director of the Birmingham Public Library. “The Birmingham Public Library joins fans across the world in mourning the death of author Harper Lee. She was a true icon in American ‘iterature.”
Monroeville holds theater productions of To Kill a Mockingbird annually. Funeral arrangements have not been set for Lee.