Monday, July 19, 2010

A CLASSIC TURNS 50


The Southern Gothic classic "To Kill a Mockingbird" silently turned the big 5-0 this past weekend and continues to be a beloved work of American fiction.

To date, it has sold 40 million copies (Jumpin' Jeezus!) and still sells 750,000 a year, according to the book's publisher, HarperCollins.

The Pulitzer-Prize winning novel by writer Harper Lee was published in 1960 and centers on racial injustice and the destruction of innocence. It's plot and characters are loosely based on observations of her family and neighbors, as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936—when she was 10 years old.

It' the scribe's only book and one that can easily fit the category of "Great American Novel."

In celebration, HarperCollins, bookstores, libraries and scores of writers and readers across the country are preparing to give Lee and Mockingbird a grand shout-out this summer with new editions, new books, readings, stagings and screenings of the 1962 film adaptation.

To read more, click HERE.

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3 comments:

  1. This book is one of my all time favourites. My teenager read it in school this past year and has read it again herself since. It is timeless.

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  2. One of my favourite books, too. I always wanted to call my children Scout but Demi and Bruce beat me to it.

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  3. It's a great novel. I've been surprised to read establishment attacks on it lately. Working on an essay about it for the blog.

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