THE MOCKINGBIRD NEXT DOOR: LIFE WITH HARPER LEE

Book ID/图书代码： 09320013B66699

English Summary/英文概要： One journalist’s memoir of her personal friendship with Harper Lee and her sister, drawing on the extraordinary access they gave her to share the story of their lives

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of the best loved novels of the twentieth century. But for the last fifty years, the novel’s celebrated author, Harper Lee, has said almost nothing on the record. Journalists have trekked to her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, where Harper Lee, known by her friends as Nelle, has lived with her sister, Alice, for decades, trying and failing to get an interview with the author. But in 2001, the Lee sisters opened their door for Chicago Tribune reporter Marja Mills. It was the beginning of a long conversation—and a friendship that has continued ever since.

In 2004, with the Lees’ encouragement, Mills moved into the house next door to the sisters. She spent the next eighteen months there, talking and sharing stories over meals and daily drives in the countryside. Along with members of the Lees’ tight inner circle, the sisters and Mills would go fishing, feed the ducks, go to the Laundromat, watch the Crimson Tide, drink coffee at McDonald’s, and explore all over lower Alabama.

Nelle shared her love of history, literature, and the quirky Southern way of life with Mills, as well as her keen sense of how journalism should be practiced. As the sisters decided to let Mills tell their story, Nelle helped make sure she was getting the story—and the South—right. Alice, the keeper of the Lee family history, shared the stories of their family.

The Mockingbird Next Door is the story of Mills’s friendship with the Lee sisters. It is a testament to the great intelligence, sharp wit, and tremendous storytelling power of these two women, especially that of Nelle.

Mills was given a rare opportunity to know Nelle Harper Lee, to be part of the Lees’ life in Alabama, and to hear them reflect on their upbringing, their corner of the Deep South, how To Kill a Mockingbird affected their lives, and why Nelle Harper Lee chose to never write another novel.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 《隔壁的知更鸟》记录了作者与哈珀•李以及她妹妹之间的友谊。

哈珀•李的《杀死一只知更鸟》是20世纪最受欢迎的小说，但是之后50年，哈珀•李就再无新作了。许多记者都来到她的家乡，阿拉巴马州的门罗威尔想要对她进行采访，但都失败了。但是2001年，李姐妹却将大门向芝加哥论坛报的记者玛利亚.米尔斯敞开了。她们之间的友谊一直持续到现在。

2004年，在李的鼓励下，米尔斯搬到了她们家的隔壁，与她们共度了1年半的时光。在此期间，她们无所不谈，还一起钓鱼，喂鸭子，去洗衣店，看《核艇风暴》，在麦当劳喝咖啡，探索阿拉巴马州的每一处低地。

哈珀与米尔斯分享她的恋爱故事，文学作品以及南方奇怪的生活方式，以及她对新闻的敏锐视角。之后哈珀和爱丽丝决定让米尔斯将她们之间的故事告诉大家，于是就有了这本《隔壁的知更鸟》。

《隔壁的知更鸟》讲述了米尔斯和李姐妹之间的友谊，全书诙谐幽默，充满智慧。

米尔斯得到了这个难得的机会，深入了解了著名作家哈珀.李，还与之生活了一段时日，了解了这对姐妹如何看待自己的成长经历，南方生活，还获悉了《杀死一只知更鸟》如何改变了她们的生活，以及为什么哈珀决定再也不写书了。（XAT）

Awards/获奖情况：Kirkus Reviews “In her first book, a journalist offers a gentle, loving portrait of a reclusive writer…. Mills portrays Nelle as a grown-up Scout, the feisty and defiant heroine of Mockingbird…. [A] charming portrait of a small Southern town and its most famous resident.”

Elizabeth Berg, New York Times bestselling author of Open House “You might come to The Mockingbird Next Door to find out why Harper Lee never wrote another novel. But you’ll stay with it for its lush evocation of the South, and for the insight into what made this reclusive author the person she became. In these pages, you’ll see the book-crowded house where Harper Lee lives with her sister, Alice. You’ll go along on outings, sit in living rooms and at restaurant tables with the Lees, read faxes they and the author send back and forth, and appreciate the small and not-so-small revelations they offer: life when they were growing up with their father, who was the model for Atticus Finch; how reading sustains a person for a lifetime, how deeply embedded values don’t change just because the times do, why it’s a good idea to regularly count the ducks you feed. I suppose we all thrill to the notion of learning personal things about a deeply private but world-famous person. What we don’t necessarily expect to see is how gently, respectfully and, above all, naturally it can be done. While I appreciated getting to see and hear the ‘real’ Harper Lee, I enjoyed as well the chance to meet Marja Mills, the woman who did what no one before her had because of her guileless trustworthiness, kindness, and care.”

Andrew Carroll, New York Times bestselling author of War Letters “In The Mockingbird Next Door, Marja Mills offers readers a rare gift, the opportunity to know an American icon. We all know that Harper Lee made a singular impact on American culture and letters with her classic To Kill a Mockingbird. But, we have never had the opportunity to know the great lady herself. I’m so glad that she and her sister Alice Lee decided to open up their world to Mills. I promise that the real Harper Lee is more than worth the wait, and Alice Lee emerges as a fascinating character in her own right. Mills was lucky enough to be invited into the lives of the Lee sisters, and it’s a treat for all of us to join her there.”

About the Author/作者介绍： 玛利亚.米尔斯曾是芝加哥论坛报的记者。2011年凭借奥黑尔机场的系列报道荣获普利策奖。《隔壁的知更鸟》是她的第一部小说。

Marja Mills is a former reporter for the Chicago Tribune and a staff Pulitzer Prize winner for a 2001 series about O’Hare Airport entitled “Gateway to Gridlock.” The Mockingbird Next Door is her first book.

Format:照片

Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE

Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：

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