Harper Lee leaves behind questions about her life and work

Harper Lee died in her sleep at the age of 89 in her hometown in Alabama.

“You would see her around but still we would honor her wishes of being a very private person”.

Lee’s longtime friend, history professor Wayne Flynt, eulogized her in a ceremony at First United Methodist Church.

At 2:57 is a brief, indistinct recording of Lee’s voice as she delivers a simple acceptance speech: “I had a speech prepared, but my heart is too full to make it. All I can say is thank you, all of you, for one of the greatest days of my life”.

By 2015, its sales were reported by HarperCollins to be more than 40 million worldwide, making it one of the most widely read American novels of the 20th century.

For decades it was thought Lee would never follow up Mockingbird – but in July a year ago Go Set A Watchman was published.

A black man has been wrongly accused of raping a white woman, and Scout’s father, the resolute lawyer Atticus Finch, defends him despite threats and the scorn of many. George says Joy learned early what we all know to be true now, Lee’s words are powerful.

On Friday, U.S. political and cultural figures mourned Lee’s death, crediting her with helping to promote tolerance and quoting her with admiration in social media and formal statements.

Despite her private nature, Lee regularly attended an annual luncheon at the University of Alabama to meet the winners of a high school essay contest on the subject of her book. “Nothing can be more important than that and that’s what influenced me”, Jaffe said.

In the book, Lee writes, “In our courts, all men are created equal”.

Harper Lee has died, but the conversation about her life and work has only begun. “It is the greatest American novel”. ‘She changed the world with ‘To Kill A Mockingbird‘. “Name one that really has had more of an impact on Americans than that book”. The present isn’t comfortable any more, and Atticus’s beloved line – “Gentlemen if there’s one slogan in this world I believe, it is this: equal rights for all, special privileges for none” – a thing of the past. “They made my stay here in Monroeville much better than it would have been”.

“She’s a part of it and always will be”, said Ann Mote, owner of the Ol’ Curiosites & Book Shoppe in Monroeville.

According to Wanda Green, the museum’s executive director, the courtroom was replicated for the 1962 film adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird“, starring Gregory Peck. Flynt said Lee was “savagely witty”.

It’s common knowledge in Monroeville that Lee did not like to talk about “Mockingbird“.

The relatively small guest list included nephews and other relatives of the publicity-shy author, as well as friends from her hometown and places afar like New York City, where she had once lived and had written her celebrated book, To Kill a Mockingbird. “That was a book about her dad”.