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Harper Lee - Biography

Harper Lee, full name Nell Harper Lee, was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama, United States. She grew up in a small town, which later became the prototype of Meikom in her famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Her father, Amasa Coleman Lee, was a lawyer and inspired one of the key characters in her book, Atticus Finch.

After graduating from school in Monroeville, Harper Lee entered Huntingdon Women's College, and then transferred to the University of Alabama, where she studied law. However, she soon realized that her real passion was writing. In 1949, Lee moved to New York, where she worked for an airline to provide for herself while she was engaged in literary work.

Her first and most famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, was published in 1960. The book became an instant bestseller and won a Pulitzer Prize. The novel highlights themes of racial injustice and loss of innocence through the eyes of a young girl, Scout Finch. Harper Lee based many of the events and characters on her childhood memories and acquaintances.

After the success of her first novel, Lee largely retired from public life and rarely gave interviews. In 2015, her second novel, Go Set a Watchman, was published, which was written before To Kill a Mockingbird, but was published many years later. Harper Lee died on February 19, 2016 in her hometown of Monroeville, leaving an indelible mark on American literature.