Harper Lee's lawyer thinks she might have written a third book

More than half a century after the release of To Kill a Mockingbird, HarperCollins announced the controversial release of its sort-of sequel, Go Set a Watchman. Questions abounded about whether author Harper Lee's lawyer, Tonja Carter, had coerced the elderly writer into releasing a second book. Lee is reportedly mostly deaf and blind, and it's been unclear exactly how her manuscript, written before Mockingbird, was discovered.
Carter attempted to set the record straight by authoring an article in The Wall Street Journal, in response to a New York Times report she takes issue with. Carter walks through her version of events, in which she, in looking through Lee's safe deposit box to evaluate her assets in 2011, came across a manuscript she assumed was an early draft of Mockingbird. But she had noticed mention of a character named Hank, who doesn't exist in the classic. It wasn't until 2014, she says, that she truly discovered Watchman and got Lee's permission to read it.
Watchman will be released Tuesday, but there's still a mystery to be solved in Lee's safe deposit box. Carter wrote of pages that she and others have yet to definitively identify:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Was it an earlier draft of Watchman or of Mockingbird or even, as early correspondence indicates it might be, a third book bridging the two? I don't know. But this much I do know: In the coming months, experts, at Nelle's direction, will be invited to examine and authenticate all the documents in the safe-deposit box. Any uncertainty about the Mockingbird manuscript removed from the mailing envelope and the mysterious pages of text in the Lord & Taylor box will be addressed. As we celebrate the publication of Go Set a Watchman, history demands no less from us. [The Wall Street Journal]
Read Carter's full account here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
-
US foodies brace for tariff war
Under The Radar Shoppers stocking up on imported olive oil, maple syrup and European wine as price hikes loom
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
How Canadian tariffs could impact tourism to the US
In the Spotlight Canadians represent the largest group of foreign visitors to the United States. But they may soon stop visiting.
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Entitlements: DOGE goes after Social Security
Feature Elon Musk is pushing false claims about Social Security fraud
By The Week US Published
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published