First published 2013
Mark Childress returns to his birthplace of Monroeville, Alabama, the real town behind Harper Lee's fictional Maycomb County. As a journalist, editors repeatedly pushed him to secure an interview with the notoriously private author of To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee turned down every request. Childress examines how Lee's singular novel shaped contemporary Southern literature and investigates her deliberate choice to remain hidden from public view. He considers what drives someone to retreat so completely after creating one of America's most widely read books. The essay spans 2,500 words and runs about ten pages. Childress had not actually met Lee when he wrote this piece. Part of the book's proceeds support literacy programs in underserved communities through DonorsChoose.
Genres: biography, literary-criticism, american-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, literary-analysis
Setting: Monroeville, Alabama, Maycomb County
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
28 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform