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Harper Lee TLS

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:NA
Harper Lee TLS
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Harper Lee typed letter signed, dated 13 September 1960, replying to a Mrs. Hudson. A fellow Alabama resident, Hudson, like many readers, apparently drew parallels between Lee's life and the fictional characters in ''To Kill a Mockingbird,'' published in July 1960, sending Lee questions about the novel's setting. Lee replies in full: ''Thank you for your kind note. You ask me where Maycomb County is, where the Landing is--the only answer I can give you is that Maycomb County is in my heart and the Landing is in my imagination. If, in 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' I persuaded you that those places are real, that means I have succeeded in my profession, which is writing fiction…'' She signs, ''Harper Lee'' and provides Hudson with a handdrawn map of fictional Maycomb County, handwriting, ''Here is your map''. The 7'' x 10'' single page letter with a return address from Lee's home in Monroeville, Alabama, shows moderate foxing and toning along folds. Overall in very good condition. Lot also includes an 8.5'' x 11'' single page letter, dated 20 September 1960 from Lee's sister, Alice Lee, to Mrs. Hudson on behalf of the author. She also answers questions about ''To Kill a Mockingbird'': ''…Scout is not Harper Lee; Scout is only the product of the very vivid imagination of the author…'' Also included is an 8.5'' x 11'' single page letter, dated only ''the 4th'' from Hudson to a Mrs. Bentley about her correspondence with Lee and commenting on Lee's novel. It reads in part: ''…the book is very shallow, and gives quite a distorted picture of the South, yet there is something very intriguing about it…'' The two letters show mild foxing, else very good. An exceptionally scarce letter, as Harper Lee quickly grew loathe to comment whatsoever upon her only novel.