The Land of Sweet Forever

From one of America’s most beloved authors,a posthumous collection of newly discovered short stories and previously published essays and magazine piecesoffering a fresh perspective on the remarkable literary mind of Harper Lee. Harper Lee remains a landmark figure in the American canon – thanks to ScoutJemAtticusand the other indelible characters in her Pulitzer-winning debutTo Kill a Mockingbird; as well as for the darkerlate-’50s version of small-town Alabama that emerged in Go Set a Watchmanher only other novelpublished in 2015 after its rediscovery. Less remembereduntil nowhoweveris Harper Lee the dogged young writerwho crafted stories in hopes of magazine publication; Lee the lively New YorkerAlabamianand friend to Truman Capote; and the Lee who peppered the pages of McCall’s and Vogue with thoughtful essays in the latter part of the twentieth century. The Land of Sweet Forever combines Lee’s early short fiction and later nonfiction in a volume offering an unprecedented look at the development of her inimitable voice. Covering territory from the Alabama schoolyards of Lee’s youth to the luncheonettes and movie houses of midcentury ManhattanThe Land of Sweet Forever invites still-vital conversations about politicsequalitytravellovefictionartthe American Southand what it means to lead an engaged and creative life. This collection comes with an introduction by Casey CepHarper Lee’s appointed biographerwhich provides illuminating background for our reading of these stories and connects them both to Lee’s life and to her two novels.