6 Books to Pair With The Land of Sweet Forever

With an introduction from longtime friend and writer Casey Cep, The Land of Sweet Forever is a touching tribute to one of the most remarkable voices in fiction. The Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition will also include newly unearthed historical information on Harper Lee’s spectacular life.

A story of racial injustice told through the eyes of a young girl named Scout living in the south in the 1930s, this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic is a must-read for all ages. A young Scout watches her father, lawyer Atticus Finch, as he defends a young black man in court. This staple in American literature is just as prominent now as it was when it was first published in 1960.

Perhaps you’ve already revisited the classic, but you’ve never seen it like this. This breathtaking new edition of the world-renowned novel features a newly designed cloth cover and intricately sprayed edges—perfect for book collectors of all ages itching to update their shelf, or first-time readers looking for an impactful read. On sale 9/9.

The unexpected follow-up to To Kill A Mockingbird – published over five decades later– features a compelling new look at the same familiar characters from the first novel. Lee expands on the complex relationship between an aging Atticus and a grown Scout in the 1950s, where their relationship becomes strained.

As with most writers, Harper Lee was quite mysterious, so Casey Cep set out to piece together her elusive writing process. Cep takes a real-life mystery—a violent assassination at a funeral—and recounts not only the crime, but Lee’s continued obsession with it. Lee had been researching and writing her own book inspired by the case before eventually abandoning it in the 1990s. Cep provides an intro for The Land of Sweet Forever.

Despite being notoriously private, Harper Lee granted journalist Marja Mills a private look into her life in the early 2000s—forty years after To Kill a Mockingbird became an international sensation. Through personal conversations with the family, Milla reveals how the lives of Lee and her sister Alice were permanently altered after Lee became a celebrated author.

Truman Capote and Harper Lee were longtime friends growing up in the deep South, and it’s often theorized that Capote assisted Lee with To Kill a Mockingbird, so the duo have had similar life experiences. Capote’s semi-autobiographical novel is a brilliant testament to growing up during a tumultuous time in the South.