Harper Lee (1926-2016)

A selective list of online literary criticism for the American novelist Harper Lee, favoring signed articles by recognized scholars and articles published in peer-reviewed sources.


main page | 20th-century literature | 20th-century fiction | 20th-century women writers | about literaryhistory.com


introduction & biography

"Harper Lee." A biography of the author, from the Encyclopedia of Alabama.

National Endowment for the Arts Introduction to To Kill a Mockingbird, from Dana Gioia, includes short essays about the historical context, author Harper Lee, discussion questions, a teacher's guide, and more. To Kill a Mockingbird was selected as one of four books for the National Endowment for the Art's Big Read, 2005.

"To Kill a Mockingbird: Then and Now." Educational materials on To Kill a Mockingbird, both the novel and the film, including discussion questions and information about the historical context. Prince William Network Distance Learning, April, 1997.

"Selected Guided Practice Activities for Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird." Suggestions for teachers, from the academic publisher A.B. Longman.

"Harper Lee's Novel Achievement."" With To Kill a Mockingbird, published 50 years ago, Lee gave America a story for the ages." Smithsonian magazine, June 2010, by Charles Leerhsen.

"To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee." A review of the novel from 1960, the year it was published, from the Atlantic Monthly magazine.

"At the Bar; To Attack A Lawyer In To Kill a Mockingbird: An Iconoclast Takes Aim At A Hero." A lawyer argues that Atticus Finch was less-than-perfect. NYTimes 28 Feb. 1992.


literary criticism

Chura, Patrick. "Prolepsis and Anachronism: Emmet Till and the Historicity of To Kill a Mockingbird." Southern Literary Journal 32, 2 (spring 2000) pp 1-26[free at jstor, click "Preview" or "Read Online"].

Crespino, Joseph. "The Strange Career of Atticus Finch." Southern Cultures 6, 2 (summer 2000) [questia subscription service, substantial preview].

Dare, Tim. "Lawyers, Ethics, and To Kill a Mockingbird." Philosophy and Literature 25, 1 (April 2001) pp 127-41[muse, preview].

Jones, Carolyn M. "Harper Lee." From The History of Southern Women's Literature (2002), ed. Carolyn Perry and Mary Louise Weaks [enotes subscription service, 11 more articles].

Lubet, Steven. "Reconstructing Atticus Finch." A lawyer begins by noting that no lawyer has done more to improve the public image of the legal profession than Atticus Finch. Michigan Law Review 97, 6 (May 1999)[enotes sub ser].

Shackelford, Dean. "The Female Voice in To Kill a Mockingbird: Narrative Strategies in Film and Novel." Mississippi Quarterly 50, 1 (Winter 1996/97) [questia sub ser].

Smykowski, Adam. "Symbolism and Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird." Readings on To Kill a Mockingbird (2000), ed. Terry O'Neill [enotes sub ser].


main page | 20th-century literature | 20th-century fiction | 20th-century women writers | about literaryhistory.com


1998-2013 by Jan Pridmore.com