Mockingbird Songs

“Provides revealing portraits of the very private Nelle and her sisters . . . A welcome snapshot of the ‘real’ Lee.” —Kirkus Reviews

An indelible portrayal of one of American literature’s most beloved authors—a collection of letters between Harper Lee and one of her closest friends that reveals the famously private writer as never before.

The violent racism of the American South drove Wayne Flynt away from his home state of Alabama, but the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s classic novel about courage, community, and equality, inspired him to return in the early 1960s and craft a career documenting and teaching Alabama history. His writing resonated with many Alabamians, in particular three sisters: Louise, Alice, and Nelle Harper Lee. Beginning with their first meeting in 1983, a mutual respect and affection for the state’s history and literature matured into a deep friendship between two families.

Flynt and Nelle Harper Lee began writing to one other while she was living in New York—heartfelt, insightful, and humorous letters in which they swapped stories, information, and opinions on their families, books, Alabama history and social values, health concerns, even their fears and accomplishments. Though their earliest missives began formally, their mutual admiration grew, their exchanges became more intimate.

Beautifully written, this remarkable compendium of their letters—a correspondence that lasted for a quarter century—offers a compelling look into the mind, heart, and work of one of the most beloved authors in modern literary history.

“A satisfying glimpse of a famously reserved literary great.” —Publishers Weekly

“Flynt offers an overview of Lee’s life with admiration, humor, and palpable love.” —Library Journal