Spirit of America Bookstore
"To Kill A Mockingbird"
1960 Novel & 1962 Movie Page
 | synopsis & history |  |
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . “People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.”
“I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.” “The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.”
( all from "To Kill A Mockingbird" )
“Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
Synopsis
The Book/s
"To Kill a Mockingbird"
by (Nelle) Harper Lee [1926-2016]
published by J.B. Lippincott & Co. on 11 July 1960
"[The book] is and it isn't autobiographical. The trial, and the rape case charge that brings on the trial, are made out of a composite
of such cases and charges. What I did present as exactly as I could was the clime and tone, as I remembered them, of the town
in which I lived. From childhood on, I did sit in the courtroom watching my father argue cases and talk to juries." (1962)
novel entry at Wikipedia
winner of the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Listed #5 on Modern Library's 1998 Reader Poll for the best novels published in the English language since 1900.
listed on TIME Magazine's All-TIME 100 Novels (10/2005)
America's #1 favorite novel on PBS's 'The Great American Read' Project of 2018
 | "To Kill A Mockingbird: Threatening Boundaries - A Reader's Companion [1994] by Claudia Johnson Twayne Publrs 8½x5¼ pb [4/94] out of print/used Twayne Publrs 8¾x5½ hardcover [4/94] for $44.00 |
 | "Critical Insights: To Kill a Mockingbird" [2009] Edited by Don Noble
With chronology & bibliography; contributors include Nancy Grisham Anderson, Diann L. Baecker, Matthew J. Bolton, Laurie Champion, Tim Dare, Neil Heims, Carolyn Jones, Edythe M. McGovern, Christopher Metress, editor Noble, Gurdip Panesar, Teresa Godwin Phelps, Gary Richards, Thomas L. Shaffer, Dean Shackleford, and Sasha Weiss (The Paris Review) Kindle Edition from Salem Press [6/2012] for $85.00 {sic} Salem Press hardcover [9/2009] out of print/used |
 | "Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird" [2010] by by Mary McDonagh Murphy, Foreword by Wally Lamb includes 'reflections' from Mary Badham, casting director Boaty Boatwright, Rick Bragg, Tom Brokaw, Rev. Thomas Lane Butts, Rosanne Cash, Mark Childress, Jane Ellen Clark, Alan Gurganus, David Kipen, Alice Finch Lee, James McBride, Diane McWhorter, Jon Meachem, Allison Moorer, James Patterson, Anna Quindlen, Richard Russo, Lizzie Skurnick, Lee Smith, Adriana Trigiani, Mary Tucker, Scott Turow, Oprah Winfrey, and Andrew Young Kindle Edition from HarperCollins e-books [6/2010] for $9.78 Harper Perennial 8x5¼ pb [7/2011] for $13.24 Harper 8½x5¾ hardcover [6/2010] for $19.15 |
 | "Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird: New Essays" [2010] Edited by Michael J. Meyer, Foreword by Maggie Seligman Kindle Edition from Scarecrow Press [10/2010] for $27.99 {sic} Scarecrow Press 8½x5½ hardcover [10/2010] for $47.45 |
"Racism In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird" [The Gale Group 2008] Edited by Candice Mancini ISBN 0-7377-3904-5
"Reimagining To Kill A Mockingbird: Family, Community, and The Possibility of Equal Justice Under Law" [5/2013]
by Austin Sarat & Martha Merrill Umphrey (May 24, 2013)
http://www.amazon.com/Reimagining-Kill-Mockingbird-Community-Possibility/dp/1625340168/
http://www.amazon.com/Reimagining-Kill-Mockingbird-Community-Possibility/dp/162534015X/
Graphic Novel Editions
 | "To Kill A Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel" [2018] Adapted & Illustrated by Fred Fordham Kindle Edition from HarperCollins Publrs [10/2018] for $12.99 Harper 9¼x6½ hardcover [10/2018] for $16.31 William Heinemann Intl. Edition 9½x6¾ hardcover [12/2018] for $14.58 |
 | "Matar a Un Ruiseñor" novela gráfica [2019] 
Kindle Edition graphic novel from HarperCollins Español [DUE Feb 2019] for $12.99 HarperCollins Español Spanish-language hardcover graphic novel [DUE Feb 2019] for $16.37 |
"Go Set A Watchman"
Published just months before Harper Lee's death at age 89, "Go Set A Watchman" is her first attempt to tell the story of the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. With the help of childhood/lifelong friend Truman Capote, the book sold to publisher J.B. Lippincott Company in 1957 (Lippincott became Harper & Row which became HarperCollins). Editor Tay Hohoff asked for a rewrite, with more emphasis on the backstory told by Scout, daughter of lawyer Atticus Finch. The very-much-revised "To Kill A Mockingbird" was published in July 1960, and both the book and the 1962 movie were enormously successful. Publishers and the public hoped for more literary output from Harper Lee, but she apparently enjoyed a quiet, reclusive life, giving no interviews, and wrote virtually nothing thereafter. "Go Set A Watchman" was initially promoted as a sequel at publication in July 2015, but is currently held to be the first draft of "To Kill A Mockingbird". "Watchman" is a worthy novel but more important as the original version of a literary masterpiece. Concerns about exploitation of then-ailing Harper Lee were set aside by her statement that she approved the new event; Harper Lee died in February 2016.
 | "The Harper Lee Collection: To Kill A Mockingbird and Go Set A Watchman" [2015] Kindle Edition from HarperCollins Publrs [8/2015] 2 books for $19.99 Harper 9x6 slipcase hardcover set [10/2015] 2 books for $33.00 |
The Author
(Nelle) Harper Lee [1926-2016]
browse books •
movie credits •
Wikipedia
winner of the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 6 November 2007 by President George W. Bush
awarded the 2010 National Medal of the Arts for her services to literature
 | "Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee" [2006, rev 2016] New York Times bestseller by Charles J. Shields The original biography was a bestseller in 2006; the revised version of 2016 (with the added subtitle 'From Scout To Go Set A Watchman') covers the publication of "Watchman" in 2015. Kindle Edition from Holt/Macmillan [rev 4/2016] for $9.99 St. Martin's Griffin pb [rev DUE 5/2017] price unknown Henry Holt & Co. 9½x6½ hardcover [rev 4/2016] for $19.88 Kindle Edition from Holt/Macmillan [2007 edition] for $9.99 Holt 8¼x5½ pb [4/2007] for $12.59 Henry Holt & Co. 9¼x6½ hardcover [5/2006] out of print/100+ used |
"The Mockingbird Next Door: Life With Harper Lee" [] by Marja Mills
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mockingbird-Next-Door-Harper/dp/1594205191/
http://www.amazon.com/Am-Scout-The-Biography-Harper/dp/0805083340/
"On Harper Lee: Essays and Reflections" [Univ Tennessee Press, 1994] maybe by Alice Petry ISBN 1-57233-578-5
http://www.amazon.com/Looking-Harper-Lee-Mark-Childress-ebook/dp/B007G39794/
Movies, Stageplays, Other Media
 |   | "To Kill A Mockingbird" feature film [Universal Dec 1962] Directed by Robert Mulligan; script by Horton Foote, based on the novel by Harper Lee; starring Gregory Peck, Robert Duvall, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, Brock Peters, John Megna, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy, Ruth White, Estelle Evans, Paul Fix, James Anderson, William Windom, Alice Ghostley & Kim Stanley; won Oscars for Best Actor (Peck), Best Script Adaptation & Best Set Decoration, nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (MB), Best B&W Cinematography & Best Music Score; listed on the National Film Registry (1995), won WGA Award for Best Drama Script Universal Legacy Series widescreen b&w DVD [9/2005] 2 disks for $23.24 Universal b&w DVD [4/98] out of prodn/80+ used Universal widescreen b&w VHS [2/98] for $2.27 {sic} Universal b&w VHS [3/92] for $1.59 {sic} Varese Sarabande Elmer Bernstein soundtrack CD [7/97] for $11.88 full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia • watch official trailer [2:53] at YouTube 11"x17" open-book poster from Amazon for $9.98 27"x40" brown poster from Amazon for $16.48 |
 | "Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird" documentary [First Run Features May 2011] 78-minute documentary film at the 50th anniversary of "To Kill a Mockingbird"; interviewees include Tom Brokaw, Rosanne Cash, Wally Lamb, James McBride, Anna Quindlen, Richard Russo, Scott Turow, Oprah Winfrey & Andrew Young, and with rare cooperation from Harper Lee's sister & friends Produced, written & directed by Mary Murphy First Run Features widescreen color DVD [7/2011] for $16.18 full credits at IMDb • official movie site |
The 50th anniversary of the 1962 film was celebrated in April 2012 with a screening at the White House (sponsored
by A.F.I.) and with President Obama introducing the film for a public broadcast on U.S.A. Network.
 | "The Screenplay of To Kill A Mockingbird [1964] by Horton Foote "The Academy Award Screenplay of The Pulitzer Prize Novel by Harper Lee" with essay "A Word From Harper Lee" Harcourt/Harvest 8½x5¾ pb [1964] out of print/scarce |
 | "Three Screenplays: To Kill A Mockingbird, Tender Mercies, and The Trip To Bountiful" [1989] by Horton Foote Foote won both an Oscar and the W.G.A Award for "TKAM" and for "Tender Mercies", and an Independent Spirit Award for "Bountiful" Grove Press 8¼x5¼ pb [1/94] for $13.79 Grove Press 8¼x5¾ hardcover [3/89] out of print/used |
 | "To Kill A Mockingbird: The Screenplay by Horton Foote Based On The Novel by Harper Lee - and Related Readings" [1997] with novel excerpt by Richard Wormser, essay by George Garrett, poems by Bob Greene & Langston Hughes, short stories by Truman Capote & José Emilio Pacheco, and the lyrics of "Strange Fruit" McDougal Littell 8½x5½ hardcover [1997] out of print/70+ used |
 | "Screen Adaptations: Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird - The Relationship Between Text and Film" [2008] by R. Barton Palmer Bloomsbury Methuen Drama pb [10/2008] for $20.09 |
the stageplay version of "To Kill A Mockingbird" [1960]
'adapted/dramatized' by Christopher Sergel
performed in September 1988 at the Royal Theatre [est. 1884] in Northampton, UK
performed in 1989 at the Mermaid Theatre [1959-2008] in London, England with Alan Dobie & Eileen Gourlay in the cast
performed in September 2006 at West Yorkshire Playhouse [est. 1990] in Leeds, U.K.: negative national review
performed in February 2011 at York's Theatre Royal [est. 1744] in U.K.: national review
 |
"Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird: Acting Edition" [1960] by Christopher Sergel Dramatic Publng Company mass pb [6/60] for $8.33 "Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird" playscript [1970] Dramatic Publng Company mass pb [1/70] out of print/used |
 | "The Play of To Kill A Mockingbird" [1988] by Christopher Sergel, Introduction by Ray Speakman Heinemann Plays 8x5½ hardcover [1/95] out of print/many used |
 | "To Kill a Mockingbird and Other Plays" [1996] Edited by Rex K. Sadler & T.A.S. Hayllar includes "TKAM" 1988 adaptation by Christopher Sergel; "Adam's Ark" based on 1990 novel by Paul Stewart; "The Hood, The Sad, and The Cuddly" teenage melodrama; "Dracula"; "The Cowpokes of Calico"; and "Possible Changes" Macmillan Education Australia 9¾x7½ pb [9/96] import/used |
Since 1991, the Monroe County Museum has sponsored performances of the "To Kill A Mockingbird" two-act stageplay by the local Mockingbird Players
amateur theater group at the Old Courthouse Museum each April & May, which sell out quickly; Act One takes place outside on the courthouse lawn,
Act Two takes place inside the courtroom • stageplay info •
January 2006 National Geographic article
® ®
 | "To Kill A Mockingbird" Broadway stageplay [Dec 2018] Drama set in 1934 in Maycomb, Alabama; opened 13 December 2018 at the Shubert Theatre; written by Aaron Sorkin; based on the novel by Harper Lee; directed by Bartlett Sher; original music by Adam Guettel; starring Jeff Daniels {as Atticus Finch}, Gbenga Akinnagbe {as Tom Robinson}, Celia Keenan-Bolger {as Scout Finch}, Danny Wolohan {as Boo Radley}, Gideon Glick, Neal Huff, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Dakin Matthews, Danny McCarthy, Will Pullen, Liv Rooth, Stark Sands, Phyllis Somerville, Frederick Weller, Erin Wilhelmi Broadway credits • official website • stageplay entry at Wikipedia |
 | "To Kill A Mockingbird" original soundtrack album on vinyl [1962] conducted by the composer Elmer Bernstein Ava Records album on vinyl [1962] out of prodn/used |
 | "To Kill A Mockingbird" soundtrack album on CD [1991 & 2014] conducted by the composer Elmer Bernstein, with Harry Betts & Herb Steward Cherry Red import soundtrack CD [9/2014] 16 tracks for $23.99 Mainstream Records MP3 album [1991] 16 tracks for $7.99 |
 | "To Kill A Mockingbird" soundtrack album on CD [re-recorded 1996] Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by the composer Elmer Bernstein Varese Sarabande soundtrack CD [orig 1962, re-issued 7/97] 14 tracks for $11.88 |
 | "To Kill A Mockingbird" original soundtrack [2007] by Leon Hunt & Josh Clark (with Pat Purchase) Indie Europe/Zoom soundtrack CD [7/2007] 16 tracks - out of prodn/SOLD OUT! This is apparently a self-generated concept album – probably intended to be listened to while reading the book |
Image Gallery
 Gregory Peck with young actress Mary Badham on the porch swing |
 Brock Peters as Tom Robinson and Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch |
'To Kill A Mockingbird' blue movie poster |
white post-Oscar 2-sheet 'To Kill A Mockingbird' movie poster] |
 Gregory Peck with young actress Mary Badham on his knee |
L i n k s
"To Kill A Mockingbird" novel entry at Wikipedia
browse the Harper Lee Store at Amazon
The pun 'Tequila Mockingbird' has shown up in several places: as a song by Asian pop-star Vanessa-Mae; as a stage performance & DVD by John Valby (aka Dr. Dirty);
as the name of Homer Simpson's band in the cartoon TV series "The Simpsons"; and as episode titles for several TV series over the years.
"Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails With A Literary Twist" novelty cocktail guide [2013] by Tim Federle
Kindle Edition from Running Press [4/2013] for $8.10
Running Press 7x5¼ hardcover [4/2013] for $11.45
Likewise, Boo Radley is the name of an Australian fashion house and of a 1990s British alt-rock band, with usage as song titles, mentions
in song lyrics, and references in many movies and on many TV series episodes.
here on the "To Kill A Mockingbird" [1960] Novel & Movie Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
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