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Title details for The Mockingbird Next Door by Marja Mills - Available

The Mockingbird Next Door

Life with Harper Lee

by Marja Mills
Amy Lynn Stewart
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of the best loved novels of the twentieth century. But for the last fifty years, the novel’s celebrated author, Harper Lee, has said almost nothing on the record. Journalists have trekked to her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, where Harper Lee, known to her friends as Nelle, has lived with her sister, Alice, for decades, trying and failing to get an interview with the author. But in 2001, the Lee sisters opened their door to Chicago Tribune journalist Marja Mills. It was the beginning of a long conversation—and a great friendship.
 
In 2004, with the Lees’ blessing, Mills moved into the house next door to the sisters. She spent the next eighteen months there, sharing coffee at McDonalds and trips to the Laundromat with Nelle, feeding the ducks and going out for catfish supper with the sisters, and exploring all over lower Alabama with the Lees’ inner circle of friends.
 
Nelle shared her love of history, literature, and the Southern way of life with Mills, as well as her keen sense of how journalism should be practiced. As the sisters decided to let Mills tell their story, Nelle helped make sure she was getting the story—and the South—right. Alice, the keeper of the Lee family history, shared the stories of their family.
 
The Mockingbird Next Door is the story of Mills’s friendship with the Lee sisters. It is a testament to the great intelligence, sharp wit, and tremendous storytelling power of these two women, especially that of Nelle.
 
Mills was given a rare opportunity to know Nelle Harper Lee, to be part of the Lees’ life in Alabama, and to hear them reflect on their upbringing, their corner of the Deep South, how To Kill a Mockingbird affected their lives, and why Nelle Harper Lee chose to never write another novel. 
Jacket photograph: Leo Fuchs / The Leo Fuchs Archives

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    July 15, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780147519665
      • File size: 235695 KB
      • Duration: 08:11:01

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A lovely voice, sincere characterizations, and an engrossing story make this an exceptional listen. Narrator Amy Lynn Stewart delivers a tender interpretation of literary giant Harper Lee (TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD) and her extraordinary older sister, Alice. Author Marja Mills, a journalist for the CHICAGO TRIBUNE, sought to find out why, after great acclaim, Harper Lee dropped out of the literary spotlight and never wrote another book. She traveled to Monroeville, Alabama, but really didn't expect to get an interview. To her amazement, Alice, an 89-year-old working attorney, welcomed her. It wasn't long before their "off-the-record" friendship began. Eventually, both Lees asked Mills to relate their reminiscences "to set the record straight." Stewart expertly differentiates between the sisters in this compelling biographical memoir. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 19, 2014
      Former Chicago Tribune reporter and first-time author Mills befriended the famously private Lee sisters of Monroeville, Ala., back in 2001, and moved into the house next door in 2004. Initially on assignment from her newspaper to gather information on Harper Lee (known as Nelle), neither Mills nor her cameraman, Terrence James, had any illusions about succeeding where countless other journalists had failed. But they were charged with at least trying to make contact with the famously reclusive author of To Kill a Mockingbird. Here, Mills recounts the surprisingly easy and natural way she did indeed meet, first, older sister Alice, a still-practicing attorney in her 80s, and then Nelle, whose sharp, eccentric personality, keen opinions, and generous reminiscences make this a must-read for fans. Subjects covered include the tribulations attending a first-time novelist’s instant fame to Lee’s childhood friendship with Truman Capote. An atmospheric image of the South, then and now, emerges as Mills recounts daily life with the sisters, as well as time with Nelle in her longtime second home, New York City. While upfront about what few areas (mostly “to spare the feelings” of living persons) must remain off the record, Nelle’s sweet friendship with Mills elicits a forthcoming portrait of the author, her family, her time, and her South that is thoughtful, witty, and rich in feeling. Agent: Miriam Altshuler, Miriam Altshuler Literary Agency.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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