A series of essays.....
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| NELLE HARPER LEE: THEN AND NOW |
.....as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E. Hughes
This is my personal tribute to "Little Nelle," Harper Lee, author of the timeless novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, as well as her recently published prequel, Go Set a Watchman. This story was originally published a little over a year ago on February 12, 2015. Sadly, this acclaimed author, Pulitzer Prize winner who pushed her way into a 'Man's World' and won, passed away today, February 19, 2016, at the age of eighty-nine.
February 12, 2015
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Little insights and stories that have caught my attention over the past week. Sharing some of them with you during this Valentine's week of celebration.....with Love. JEH
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What an amazing name Harper is. I read once that her first name is Nelle. Nelle Harper Lee. Always wondered why she published under her middle name of Harper. Not really such a surprise given the fact that Nelle is such a feminine, nostalgic and 'girlie' name. I surmise that to sell this book back in 1960, a book filled with such poignant prejudice and striking inequities, Harper was dealing with some prejudices of her own.
A female and first time author, Nelle probably did pretty much what she had been told to do by her editor even if it included changing her main character, Scout, from a woman returning home after many years into a young girl coming-of-age in the South.
Nelle listened, but at what price? And, I'm not too sure, having read her biography and taken-in some of her references towards naïveté and being an outcast as a child due to an extremely 'Tomboyish' personality, that these factors didn't project her as a hardworking young female pushing the parameters of a 'Man's World.'
Did it break her? Had she had enough with the publication of her one book? No matter how many accolades they bestowed upon her, including a Pulitzer Prize and making her novel into a movie in 1962, soon to become a classic in its own right, did she say the sacrifice really wasn't worth it anymore and moved-on with her life?
I will be lining-up to buy and read her prequel, as I refer to it instead, Go Set a Watchman, because it had been written before her editor intervened! Of course, it will be expected and natural even to contrast and compare it with To Kill a Mockingbird. I hope Nelle is braced and ready for the bumpy ride!
Copyright © 2016 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved
