Will Harper Lee Have "Legs"?

The morning paper headlined some reactions to today's issuance of her second book - 55 years after the first "To Kill a Mockingbird" - which carries on the story of Scout, heroine of that book.   Back in February Barnes and Nobel's top 100 sellers listed it as #1 and it wasn't available to hold in your hands until today July 14, 2015.

And, since Nelle Harper Lee is 89 (born 4-28-1926) and lives in an assisted living facility undermined by being wheelchair bound, deaf, sight impaired  and somewhat confused, it seems extremely unlikely she will write again - unless her lawyer unearths another finished manuscript from the ole safe deposit box.  Sinisterly there is already talk of that.

Curious about the private woman, I searched and found these tidbits.  Her first name is her grandmother's name -- Ellen -- backwards.  She has three older siblings and one sister in particular is praised as being an excellent copy editor.

She and fellow author Truman Capote were lifelong friends; in fact the character "Dill" in Mockingbird WAS Truman.  In turn he featured her as his travel companion in "Murder in Cold Blood" and hi first novel "Other Voices, Other Rooms."  

She left her small Southern town for New York where by day she worked as an airline reservations agent; writing by night.  Such was their awe of her abilities that friends put together a year's living expenses and gave it to her for Christmas telling her she could quit work for a year and just write.  Talk about faith in a writer!

It is widely believed that "Scout" grew up to be a lesbian as was Miss Lee.  I would say that back in those days, "a lesbian" was pretty much an unknown idea more usually described as "Oh, she's just a tomboy - always has been." 

Given the great (deserved) fame of her first book, we shall see what the fate of this one proves to be.  Since reviews have frequently stressed Atticus Finch's change into a racist in his later years and since all of America is seemingly pointing fingers at others and playing "the race card" the eventual outcome will be ... interesting.  But will it sell books?