2017-02-06
An insider's portrait of the beloved author.Flynt (Emeritus, History/Auburn Univ.; Keeping the Faith: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives, 2011, etc.) received his first letter from Nelle Harper Lee (1926-2016) in 1992. Over the years, they became dear friends, and this book collects their correspondence. Flynt provides revealing portraits of the very private Nelle and her sisters, Alice and Louise, and her close relationship with the Flynt family. Like the bird that inhabits the title of her famous novel, Lee was "complicated and independent" and highly protective of her family. However, as Flynt found out, once she could trust him, she was neither cold nor uncommunicative but rather "empathetic, warm, nonjudgmental, and a wonderful conversationalist." Her letters are often chatty, funny, and satirical. The correspondence explores racial issues, personal matters, and the state of Lee's health, but there's also a good deal of material literary buffs and fans of Lee will enjoy. Her "literary idol" was Jane Austen. She loved Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It and read C.S. Lewis "voraciously." Eudora Welty, she writes, was "my goddess, and with Faulkner, I think are the TWO." Although Lee was ill, she did approve the publication of Go Set a Watchman and was especially pleased with its sales and the money she was making. Even though she was Truman Capote's "oldest friend," she knew he told others he had a hand in writing To Kill a Mockingbird, which grew out of a short story she had written. With a touch of glee, she writes, "I did something Truman could not forgive: I wrote a novel that sold." He "nursed his envy for more than 20 years." Lee calls biographer Charles Shields, whom she refused to cooperate with, a "creep," and she was livid when she found out he had included her New York City address in it: "bush-league." A thin but welcome snapshot of the ‘real' Lee.
An indelible portrait of one of the most famous and beloved authors in the canon of American literature-a collection of letters between Harper Lee and one of her closest friends that reveals the famously private writer as never before, in her own words.
The violent racism of the American South drove Wayne Flynt away from his home state of Alabama, but the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee's classic novel about courage, community, and equality, inspired him to return in the early 1960s and craft a career documenting and teaching Alabama history. His writing resonated with many Alabamians, in particular three sisters: Louise, Alice, and Nelle Harper Lee. Beginning with their first meeting in 1983, a mutual respect and affection for the state's history and literature matured into a deep friendship between two families who can trace their roots there back more than five generations.
Flynt and Nelle Harper Lee began writing to one other while she was living in New York-heartfelt, insightful, and humorous letters in which they swapped stories, information, and opinions on topics both personal and professional: their families, books, Alabama history and social values, health concerns, and even their fears and accomplishments. Though their earliest missives began formally-""Dear Dr. Flynt""-as the years passed and their mutual admiration grew, their exchanges became more intimate and emotional, opening with ""Dear Friend"" and closing with ""I love you, Nelle."" Through their enduring correspondence, the Lees and the Flynts became completely immersed in each other's lives.
Beautifully written, intelligent, and telling, this remarkable compendium of their letters-a correspondence that lasted for a quarter century, from 1992 until Harper Lee's death in February 2016-offers an incisive and compelling look into the mind, heart, and work of one of the most beloved authors in modern literary history.
An indelible portrait of one of the most famous and beloved authors in the canon of American literature-a collection of letters between Harper Lee and one of her closest friends that reveals the famously private writer as never before, in her own words.
The violent racism of the American South drove Wayne Flynt away from his home state of Alabama, but the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee's classic novel about courage, community, and equality, inspired him to return in the early 1960s and craft a career documenting and teaching Alabama history. His writing resonated with many Alabamians, in particular three sisters: Louise, Alice, and Nelle Harper Lee. Beginning with their first meeting in 1983, a mutual respect and affection for the state's history and literature matured into a deep friendship between two families who can trace their roots there back more than five generations.
Flynt and Nelle Harper Lee began writing to one other while she was living in New York-heartfelt, insightful, and humorous letters in which they swapped stories, information, and opinions on topics both personal and professional: their families, books, Alabama history and social values, health concerns, and even their fears and accomplishments. Though their earliest missives began formally-""Dear Dr. Flynt""-as the years passed and their mutual admiration grew, their exchanges became more intimate and emotional, opening with ""Dear Friend"" and closing with ""I love you, Nelle."" Through their enduring correspondence, the Lees and the Flynts became completely immersed in each other's lives.
Beautifully written, intelligent, and telling, this remarkable compendium of their letters-a correspondence that lasted for a quarter century, from 1992 until Harper Lee's death in February 2016-offers an incisive and compelling look into the mind, heart, and work of one of the most beloved authors in modern literary history.
Mockingbird Songs: My Friendship with Harper Lee
Mockingbird Songs: My Friendship with Harper Lee
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170123544 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 05/02/2017 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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