(born April 28, 1926, Monroeville, Ala., U.S.) U.S. novelist. The daughter of a lawyer, Lee attended the University of Alabama but left for New York City before obtaining a law degree.
An editor helped her transform a series of short stories into the novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). Lee's only novel, it was nationally acclaimed, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1961, and was adapted into a memorable film in 1962. The novel's hero is the white lawyer Atticus Finch, whose just and compassionate acts include an unpopular defense of a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl. The book continued to resonate into the 21st century. In 2007 Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
This is the complete article, containing 119 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
View More Summaries on Harper Lee
