1. To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

2. Born April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama • Youngest of four children • Parents: • Father- lawyer and member of state legislature • Mother-home maker • Close childhood friends with Truman Capote • She was a “tomboy” • He was picked on by other boys Young Life

3. Harper Lee

4. Attended: • Huntington College • Transferred to University of Alabama • Editor of Rammer Jammer, humor magazine • Studied abroad at Oxford • Studied literature and law • Moved to New York in 1949 to pursue a career in writing • Worked as an airline ticket agent to support herself Education and Early Career

5. Lee with Truman Capote

6. Helped Truman Capote research his famous nonfiction piece In Cold Blood • Published To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960 • Pulitzer Prize in 1961 • Film adaptation in 1962 • Sold over 30 million copies to date • Started a non-fiction book project but never finished Literary Success

7. To Kill A Mockingbird

8. Leads a quiet life in Monroeville and NYC • Generally avoids public attention or talking about To Kill A Mockingbird • Social privately and within community • Awarded many honorary degrees but always declines the speech • Did appear to accept Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007 • Remained friends with Truman Capote • Friendship strained because of his drug abuse • He died in 1984 Later Life

9. Lee with President Bush

10. Set in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s • Great Depression • Segregation/Racism • Follows the Finch family • Narrated by Scout Finch • Tells story after the events of the novel took place • She was six when these events happened The Novel

11. Childhood and loss of innocence • Socioeconomic status • Gender roles • Law and justice • Compassion and empathy • Race, tolerance and prejudice • Courage Prominent Ideas to Look for as you Read