And it’s because of this:
Though “Watchman” is being published for the first time now, it was essentially an early version of “Mockingbird.” According to news accounts, “Watchman” was submitted to publishers in the summer of 1957; after her editor asked for a rewrite focusing on Scout’s girlhood two decades earlier, Ms. Lee spent some two years reworking the story, which became “Mockingbird.”
Basically, the editor effectively told Harper Lee to turn an angry book into a kind-hearted one. And thus we see the usefulness of editors; because God knows there are enough angry books in the world. I don’t need to have Harper Lee’s original vision of Atticus Finch in my head. I deal with enough ugly on a regular basis, as it is.
And don’t even get me started on the professional ethics of taking a first draft of a book and passing it off as a sequel to the final version of that book. That is a wicked thing to do. Whoever green-lighted that gambit should be ashamed.
Via
"Atticus is a racist who once attended a Klan meeting." @michikokakutani's scoopy review of "Go Set a Watchman." http://t.co/1rAoYvK6bl
— Peter Lattman (@peterlattman) July 10, 2015
Moe Lane
I’d add that there’s a good chance she’s being taken advantage of in her old age. http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2204527-is-harper-lee-being-taken-advantage-of-with-the-publication-of-her-new-b
Of course she may not see it that way…http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31147034