There are some things that are rites of passage for high schoolers—namely the SAT, prom, and To Kill A Mockingbird. This book has been one of those required rituals since its release in 1960, and I’ve noticed from Facebook stalking that it is also a favorite book for many of my friends. I feel very left out, though, because I’ve never actually read it. So after reading Charles J. Shields’s I Am Scout, a biography of To Kill A Mockingbird’s author Harper Lee, I’ve decided to give her Pulitzer Price-winning novel a go.
If you liked TKAM, then you will probably enjoy this bio of Harper Lee, a.k.a. Nelle Harper Lee. Shields recounts the creation of the characters in TKAM based from the author’s life: the drowsy town of Maycomb is similar to Nelle’s hometown of Monroeville, Alabama; the real Atticus Finch is based on her father, whom she always idolized; Tom Robinson’s plight is derived from a trial involving nine black men accused of raping two white women; Scout, the book’s young tomboy narrator, is compared to a young Nelle.
What I found to be the most interesting was the friendship between Truman Capote and Nelle. It’s not everyday that two influential American writers grow up together. As children, they were both oddballs in the classroom and loved to write. Truman, who moved to New York City as a teen and inspired Nelle to move to New York to pursue a writing career, invited her to Kansas to be his “assistant researchist” on an investigative assignment for The New Yorker. Together, they investigated the murder of the Clutter Family. Their murder, and the trial of their killers, was infamously recorded in Truman’s book In Cold Blood.
Nelle put in an extensive amount of investigative work and editing into the book. When the book was published Truman’s only credit to her was a dedication of the book, second to his lover Jack Dunphy. Nelle was reported to be pretty disappointed about that—and who wouldn’t be? This book was no disappointment and, surprisingly, was a page-turner. I recommend I Am Scout to anyone who likes biographies and wants to go behind-the-scenes of a great American novel.—Emily Berry
Let us know what you thought about I Am Scout in the comments section. And don’t forget to start reading these upcoming ELLEgirl Book Club picks:
April 16: Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
April 23: All Souls by Christine Schutt
April 30: Confession of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman
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