Who wrote the novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird'?

"To Kill a Mockingbird" is a novel by the American writer Harper Lee (Nelle Harper Lee), published in 1960. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961 and is one of the most widely read American novels.

About the novel:

• It is set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
• It is narrated by a young girl, Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, who lives with her brother Jem and their widowed father, Atticus Finch, a lawyer.

Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of assaulting a white woman. Despite clear evidence of his innocence, the all-white jury convicts him.

The children are also fascinated by their mysterious neighbour, Boo Radley, who later saves their lives.

The title comes from Atticus's advice that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, because mockingbirds do nothing but sing for people; it symbolises the destruction of innocence.

The novel deals with racial injustice, moral courage and growing up.

It was made into a famous film in 1962, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

About Harper Lee (1926-2016):

She was born in Monroeville, Alabama. Her childhood friend was the writer Truman Capote, who is said to have inspired the character Dill.

For more than 50 years, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was her only published novel.

In 2015, "Go Set a Watchman", an earlier draft featuring an adult Scout, was published.

She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007.

Other American classics:

• John Steinbeck: "The Grapes of Wrath" (1939), "Of Mice and Men"; Nobel Prize, 1962.
• Mark Twain: "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".
• Margaret Mitchell: "Gone with the Wind" (1936).

Why not the other options?

• ✗John Steinbeck wrote "The Grapes of Wrath".
• ✗Mark Twain wrote "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".
• ✗Margaret Mitchell wrote "Gone with the Wind".