In this episode, we profile Nelle Harper Lee, the literary icon whose 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird won the Pulitzer Prize and became a classic of modern American literature,. Join us as we explore how the daughter of a Monroeville, Alabama lawyer drew upon her family and childhood friendship with Truman Capote to create the world of Maycomb,.

We dig deep into the fascinating and sometimes controversial history of her career, covering:

• The Rewrite: How a critical editor, Tay Hohoff, guided Lee for years to transform a "series of anecdotes" originally titled Go Set a Watchman into To Kill a Mockingbird—a process so grueling Lee once threw her manuscript out a window into the snow,.

• The Silence: Lee’s retreat from public life following the massive success of her d ...