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Myths and Legends: Harper Lee

As we all prepare to see Jeff Daniels in the new staged version of "Mockingbird," here's some useful trivia to consider:

(1) Truman Capote didn't exactly encourage rumors that he had secretly written "Mockingbird," but, really, he didn't *discourage* those rumors. He and Lee grew apart as they aged. Capote torpedoed several additional friendships when he wrote "Answered Prayers," which was a gossipy, bitchy account of the private lives of various famous people.

(2) P.S. Hoffman of course won the Oscar for "Capote," but do you recall that Catherine Keener was nominated? Best Supporting Actress--for embodying Harper Lee, or one version of Harper Lee.

(3) When Lee was young, wealthy friends of hers gave her the gift of one year of financial support. Such was their belief in Lee's talent. They believed she could make a book. She did crank out a book--"Go Set a Watchman"--but it wasn't very good. An editor said, "Why don't you focus on the flashback material?" And so Lee went back, and wrote a novel about childhood, in which Atticus was not overtly racist (at least most of the time). This was "Mockingbird." When Lee was old and sick, and maybe not in her right mind, she apparently "agreed" to the idea of having "Watchman" published. The book was marketed as a sequel to "Mockingbird"--but obviously it wasn't that. It was a lumpy first draft.

Speculation that Lee consented under duress, or without proper control of her mental faculties, led to an actual investigation. Authorities concluded that Lee knew what she was doing. But not everyone is satisfied with this investigation. And, at this point, Lee has "left the building."

(4) One way to view TKAM is: through the lens of the crime novel. Yep, that's what we have here. In a crime novel, events move both forwards and backward. In TKAM, we have the forward movement of the trial, of Scout's deepening understanding, of the changing of the seasons. At the same time, we have backward movement, made possible by the unearthing of clues.

So-called "crime": A white woman is drawn to a black man, and must endure his dignified rejection of her advances. Cover-up: Consumed with self-hatred, and eager for revenge, the woman claims that in fact the *man* made the advances. Investigation: Despite discouraging social pressure, and by means of harsh questions, Atticus uncovers the truth. We end where we start: We now know what happened in Mayella's chambers.

(5) Horton Foote wrote the screenplay for TKAM, and won an Oscar, and much later he would write the screenplay for "Tender Mercies," for which Robert Duvall would win an *acting* Oscar. (How had Duvall made his Hollywood debut? By means of TKAM. He was Boo Radley.)

(6) TKAM is about social fictions, both productive and unproductive. Atticus teaches Scout to be excessively polite to Mrs. Dubose, who is a tyrant: It's best to be sunny in the presence of real suffering. A certain troubled man "fell on his knife": Why not advance that narrative, and not get into all the challenging specifics? One may wish to slap Aunt Alexandra across the face, but one must practice forbearance. The politics of everyday interactions, and the ways that children learn to acquire knowledge of "the politics": Lee couldn't get enough of that type of material.

(7) TKAM won the Pulitzer Prize, though Flannery O'Connor, in a haughty way, called it: "a pretty good book....for children...." (And I'm not sure I agree. I'm not sure this is a kids' book. Lee certainly didn't see it that way.)

(8) Lee's unauthorized biographer will be back on the market soon with "The Man who Wrote the Perfect Novel," an account of the life of the guy who brought us "Stoner." I'm cautiously excited about that.

(9) Lee *did* try to write again, after "Mockingbird," and evidence suggests that the work was pretty bad. She wasn't reclusive, despite certain legends. She was also extremely fond of (Oscar-winner) Gregory Peck.

***And that's all for now. I'm currently thinking about beach reading for vacation, and major contenders, for the moment, are: Lansdale, Tomalin, Baldwin, Shields, "Advice for Future Corpses," Anthony Trollope, Cusk's "A Life's Work," "Snow Queen," "Helter Skelter," William Maxwell, "Persuasion," the new McDermid, "No Night Is Too Long," Brookner, "A Far Cry from Kensington." As always, your thoughts are welcome!

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