Land of Sweet Forever

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The New York Times bestseller from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, a posthumous collection of newly discovered writing, offering a fresh perspective on the remarkable literary mind behind To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman.

Featuring an introduction by Casey Cep, Harper Lee's appointed biographer.

'Written with all of Lee's character and descriptive brilliance.' The Times

'A new window into one of America's literary icons.' i Paper

Harper Lee remains a landmark figure in the American canon - thanks to Scout, Jem, Atticus, and the other indelible characters in her Pulitzer-winning debut, To Kill a Mockingbird; as well as for the darker, late-'50s version of small-town Alabama that emerged in Go Set a Watchman, her only other novel, published in 2015 after its rediscovery.

The Land of Sweet Forever combines Lee's never-before-seen short stories and published nonfiction in a volume offering an unprecedented look at the development of her inimitable voice. Covering territory from the Alabama schoolyards of Lee's youth to the luncheonettes and movie houses of midcentury Manhattan, The Land of Sweet Forever invites still-vital conversations about politics, equality, travel, love, fiction, art, the American South, and what it means to lead an engaged and creative life.

This collection comes with an introduction by Casey Cep, Harper Lee's appointed biographer, which provides illuminating background for our reading of these stories and connects them both to Lee's life and to her two novels.

Combining Lee's early short fiction and later nonfiction, The Land of Sweet Forever offers an unprecedented look at the development of her inimitable voice.

Praise for The Land of Sweet Forever and Harper Lee:

'Thrilling ... helps explain how the little girl from South Alabama Avenue turned herself into a bestselling author.' Guardian

'Cast[s] a new light on the literary giant.' Sunday Times

'Unmistakably Lee' The Telegraph

Review: Unpublished they may have been, but these aren't half-baked sketches: they are stories written with all of Lee's character and descriptive brilliance * The Times *
When To Kill a Mockingbird was published in the summer of 1960, it seemed to have sprung from nowhere, like an Alabamian Athena: a perfectly formed novel from an unknown southern writer without any evident precedent or antecedent. ... But no writer is without influences and aspirations: Harper Lee had, of course, come from somewhere and worked tremendously hard to become someone. ... How thrilling, then, to encounter a time capsule from the start of Lee's career ... help[ing] to explain how the little girl from South Alabama Avenue turned herself into a bestselling author. ... Brilliance unleashed on the page. * Guardian *
Previously unseen short stories shed fresh light on Harper Lee's unlikely rise to fame * Guardian *
Eight neatly typed short stories by the To Kill a Mockingbird author ... cast a new light on the literary giant * Sunday Times *
Previously unseen stories and essays reveal Harper Lee's sharp wit, southern roots, and evolving voice. From small-town Alabama to big-city life, this posthumous collection offers a new window into one of America's literary icons. * i Paper *
Harper Lee's wry humor is on ample display * Los Angeles Times *
Allow[s] us to see the before and after of a literary sensation * i Paper *
There's a sweetness of tone in the stories. I came away from reading this thinking I would have liked to know her. -- Tom Sutcliffe, BBC Radio 4 Front Row
There's a joy and simplicity in the way she writes -- Christina Newland, BBC Radio 4 Front Row
The stories are unmistakably Lee * The Telegraph *