- 20 February 2016
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ลำดับตอนที่ #41 : US author of To Kill a Mockingbird dies aged 89
Harper Lee: US author of To Kill a Mockingbird dies aged 89
The book remains a towering presence in American literature, telling the tale of a
white lawyer defending a black man accused of rape in the Deep South.
It sold more than 40 million copies worldwide and 55 years after
it was published, in 2015, she released the sequel, Go Set a Watchman.
Tributes
have been paid to the Alabama-born writer, who rarely gave interviews despite
her fame.
Former US President George W Bush, who awarded her the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007, said she was "a legendary novelist
and lovely lady".
Lee
was born 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. She was the youngest of four children of
lawyer Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee.
She was a guardedly
private person, respected and protected by residents of her town, rarely giving
interviews.
Lee's literary
agent Andrew
Nurnberg said: "Knowing Nelle these past few years has been not just an utter delight but an
extraordinary privilege.
"When I saw her just six weeks ago, she was full of life,
her mind and mischievous
wit as sharp as
ever. She was quoting Thomas More and setting me straight on Tudor history. We have
lost a great writer, a great friend and a beacon of integrity."
Spencer Madrie, owner of Ol' Curiosities and Book Shoppe, a
small, independent book store in Lee's hometown that focuses largely on Lee's
works, said: "The world has lost a brilliant mind and a great
writer."
"We
will remember Harper Lee for her candour, her talent, and the truths she gave the world, perhaps
before the world was ready. We are grateful to have had a connection to an
author who offered so much.
"There
will always be something missing from Monroeville and the world at large in the
absence of Harper Lee."
James Naughtie, BBC Books Editor, on the novels of Harper Lee:
I
think she stands, particularly among American readers, as someone who shone a
light into a very dark place.
She
was writing at a time when people were beginning to lift the lid on everything that
had been going on in the South which they'd chosen not to understand. That all
changed in the 1960s. So I think her status for writing that book in its
extraordinarily direct way will remain.
There's
no question that Go Set A Watchman didn't read terribly well, Atticus Finch
comes out as a rather less likeable figure than he is in To Kill A Mockingbird.
But she remains an extraordinary figure.
She
wrote one extremely powerful, accessible and successful book, that will be revered by people for a
very long time.
The
author Malorie Blackman posted "Harper Lee R.I.P." on her Twitter
account.
Erica Wagner, former literary editor of The Times said:
"Harper Lee changed how much of America - and the world - saw the South.
"Few writers are privileged to create characters which
truly seem to leap
off the page and live: Lee will always be remembered as one of those."
Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted: "Rest in peace, Harper Lee. The
one thing that doesn't abide
by majority rule is a person's conscience."
The
manuscript for the
sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set A Watchman was discovered and published in 2015.
Many bookshops remained open all night to cope with demand on the
day of the novel's release last July.
The book is set 20 years after the events of To Kill a Mockingbird
- although Lee actually wrote Go Set a Watchman first.
Watchman contains some of the same characters as Mockingbird,
including Scout and her father Atticus Finch.
The publication proved controversial as early reviewers noted that
Atticus expresses racist views in the story.
To Kill a Mockingbird - at a glance
In the small fictional town of Maycomb in the depression-ravaged American South, a
black man named Tom Robinson is falsely accused of raping a white woman.
A lawyer named Atticus Finch defends Robinson in court. The
frenzy stirred up by the case and her father's quest for justice are seen
through the eyes of Finch's six-year-old daughter Scout.
The book explores issues of race, class and the loss of
innocence.
"You never really understand a person until you consider
things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in
it." - Atticus Finch to Scout.
"It was times like these when I thought my father, who
hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived."
- Scout Finch.
In
1962, it was made into a film starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch and Mary
Badham as Scout. The novel is currently being adapted for the stage.
towering (adj.)
very high and making people feel respect
Tributes (n.)
something that you say, write, or give that showsyour respect and admiration for someone, especially on a formal occasion:
to show clearly how good, strong, or effective something or someone is:
guardedly
guarded
careful not to give too much information or show how you really feel:
literary (adj.)
connected with literature:
agent (n.)
a person who represents an actor, artist, or writer
a person or thing that produces a particular effect or change:
utter (v.)
to say something or to make a sound with your voice:
(adj.)
complete or
extreme:
mischievous (adj.)
behaving in a way, or describing behaviour, that is slightlybad but is not intended to cause serious harm or damage
expressing or suggesting mischief:
used to describe behaviour or words that are intended to cause harm or trouble:
wit (n.)
the ability to use words in a clever and humorousway:
beacon (n.)
a light or fire on the top of a hill that acts as a warning or signal:
integrity.(adj.)
the quality of being honest and having strongmoral principles that you refuse to change:
candour (n.)
a light or fire on the top of a hill that acts as a warning or signal:
lid (n.)
a cover on a container, that can be lifted up or removed:
revered (v.)
to very much respect and admire someone or something:
leap (v.)
to make a large jump or sudden movement, usually from one place to another:
abide (v.)
conscience.
(n.)
the part of you that judges how moral your own actions are and makes you feel guilty about bad things that you have done or things you feel responsible for:
manuscript (n.)
the original copy of a book or article before it is printed
an old document or book written by hand in the times before printing was invented:
cope (v.)
to deal successfully with a difficult situation:
controversial(Adj.)
causing disagreement or discussion:
ravaged (v.)
to cause great damage to something:
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