The status of the larger investigation by Alabama's Department of Human Resources is unclear.ĪP Writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.To Kill a Mockingbird focuses on that gut instinct of right and wrong, and distinguishes it from just following the law. Lee, who has been in frail health and lives in an assisted-living facility in her hometown of Monroeville, answered questions to the satisfaction of the Alabama Securities Commission and that part of the inquiry was closed, a state official said earlier this month. State investigators in Alabama recently looked into whether publishing 'Go Set a Watchman' involved financial fraud. She has long expressed satisfaction with having 'Mockingbird,' which came out in 1960, as her only published book and has avoided the press for decades.Īccording to HarperCollins, a complete manuscript for 'Go Set a Watchman' was discovered last year by Lee's attorney, Tonja Carter. HarperCollins has announced a first printing of 2 million copies and a July 14 release date for 'Watchman.' Pre-orders have kept the book high on 's best-seller list despite ongoing concerns about the quality of the novel, which Lee wrote before 'Mockingbird,' and about the 88-year-old Lee's involvement in the publication. Jonathan Burnham, a publisher and senior vice president at HarperCollins, said that creating an entirely new image had 'certainly crossed our minds,' but that he and others kept coming back 'to the central idea that the cover should in some ways connect to 'To Kill a Mockingbird.'' An oak tree, 'Mockingbird' fans know, can be found on the property where the reclusive Boo Radley lives, in Lee's fictional Maycomb, Alabama. and Commonwealth edition - an orange-red jacket featuring a bird on branch and the words 'by the author of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'' prominently displayed along with the title. 'This design is perfect - it draws on the style of the decade the book was written, but with a modern twist.'īritish publisher Penguin Random House unveiled a different cover for the book's U.K. 'There are so many wonderful parts of 'Go Set a Watchman' that it was hard to pick just one iconic image to represent the book,' Morrison said. In a statement released by HarperCollins, company President Michael Morrison noted that 'Go Set a Watchman' begins with 'Mockingbird' protagonist Scout Finch returning by train 20 years later, in the 1950s, to her native Alabama. The new cover, like the one for 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' is a moody illustration featuring an oak tree in front, but also shows train tracks and a train in the distance. On Wednesday, HarperCollins unveiled the jacket art for Lee's 'Go Set a Watchman,' the unexpected follow-up to her classic 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' NEW YORK - The cover for Harper Lee's new novel will surely remind you of the cover for her old one.

Book cover of to kill a mockingbird