The publication of Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman was rife with controversy earlier this summer, and thankfully that appears to be the last of the drama.
Harper Lee’s lawyer Tonja Carter published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal last month which suggested that a third novel may’ve been recently discovered in a lock box owned by the author. Tonja wrote that a “significant number of pages of another typed text” were found in said box, and she mused that “early correspondence” suggested “it might be […] a third book bridging the two” novels.
This revelation surprised everyone in the literature. Could another Harper Lee novel see a release after all this time?
In the same op-ed the lawyer announced that an investigation by a rare books expert would determine what the hell were on the newly-discovered pages. The investigation has now concluded, and it turns out it wasn’t a third book after all. According to the Wall Street Journal, the documents actually hold an alternate opening for To Kill a Mockingbird:
The early version of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ reveals a different opening to the book than the one that was eventually published. The earlier version, pictured here, doesn’t begin with Ms. Lee’s famous opening line about the broken elbow of Scout’s brother Jem. It begins instead with the lines: “Where did it all begin? It began with Andrew Jackson.”
The Wall Street Journal adds that the new documents total 145 pages in length. According to the expert who researched the collection, this alternate version of To Kill a Mockingbird consists of several early drafts and is “an extremely important collection.”
Hopefully Tonja Carter, who is believed to have been responsible for the publication of Go Set a Watchman whether or not the ailing Harper Lee wanted it released, doesn’t get any ideas about releasing an alternate Mockingbird.
We’re describing the lack of a third book as “good news” because many believe that Watchman shouldn’t have been published.
Fan of our book coverage? Why not join our Hypable Books Facebook group!
We want to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Write a comment below or submit an article to Hypable.