Nelle Harper Lee

Mrs. Drum

Background• Born April 28, 1926• Grew up in Monroeville, Alabama, in the heart of the

South, where racial tension was high• She was a tomboy, much like Scout• Truman Capote was a childhood friend (Dill is

believed to be based on him)• In high school, Lee developed an interest in English• She attended Huntingdon College and transferred to

University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa• In her junior year, Lee was accepted into the

university's law school• She went to Oxford University in England that

summer• When she returned from England, Lee dropped out

and moved to New York City to become a writer.

Background• In NYC, she struggled for several years but did

reunite with Truman Capote, one of the literary rising stars of the time.

• She also became close with Broadway composer and lyricist Michael Martin Brown and his wife.– In 1956, they gave her an extraordinary

Christmas gift—they would support her financially for a year so that she could quit her job and write full time.

– The Browns also helped her obtain her agent, Maurice Crain.

• Crain was able to get publisher interested in her first novel, which was titled Go Set a Watchman, then Atticus, and later To Kill a Mockingbird.

• Lee finished the manuscript in 1959, and continued working with Capote on his book In Cold Blood.

Outlier Explanation• In July 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird was published

and picked up by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Literary Guild.

• It received rave reviews and and quickly climbed the bestseller lists, where it remained for 88 weeks.

• In 1961, the novel won the Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Gregory Peck.

• In 2007, President Bush awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

• In 2011, President Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts.

• She has led a quiet and guardedly private life until this past February: Go Set a Watchman, technically her first book, will be published for release in July.

Theory

The Matthew Effect• It is those who are successful… who are most likely to

be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success.”

Harper Lee’s “Special Opportunities”• Friendship with Truman Capote

– Experience working on In Cold Blood– Making connections in NYC

• Relationship with the Browns– Allowed her to write full-time– Connected her to an agent

Theory

Advantageous Era of Birth• Lee was born right before the Great

Depression– She experienced the hardships of

the time, through the eyes of a child (the narrator)

– She witnessed the brutal racial tension of the South during Jim Crow

• These experiences allowed Lee to accurately write a novel about the time and likenesses to real events.

ReflectionWas her success fair?• Yes, she did work very hard to reach her goal of becoming a writer, and she

is clearly very skilled.• Even though she did have the advantage of connections that others did not

have, her book was extremely successful because of her talent, not because of her relationships.

Others can benefit• There might be other people like Harper Lee who have the talent but

haven’t yet been found or can’t afford to move to NYC or have an agent. These aspiring writers would benefit from opportunities that Lee had.

What can we learn?• Others can learn that sometimes

you do have to have the right connections to get you where you need to go, but ultimately, it’s your talent that makes you successful.

Bibliography

Grossman, Lev. “Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman Will Realign the Literary Universe.” Time.com. Time. 3 Feb. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. "Harper Lee." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.