Harper Lee did write To Kill a Mockingbird, but there have always been people, even today, who believe that the book was written by her very good friend and fellow author, Truman Capote.
Truman Capote was the basis for the character of Dill Harris in Mockingbird. Capote and Lee were lifelong friends who both went on to become some of America's most famous writers. At the same time that To Kill a Mockingbird...
Harper Lee did write To Kill a Mockingbird, but there have always been people, even today, who believe that the book was written by her very good friend and fellow author, Truman Capote.
Truman Capote was the basis for the character of Dill Harris in Mockingbird. Capote and Lee were lifelong friends who both went on to become some of America's most famous writers. At the same time that To Kill a Mockingbird was about was published, Capote was in the process of researching (with the help of Harper Lee!) and writing another great American classic, In Cold Blood.
The belief that Capote was the real author of Mockingbird originated for one main reason. Capote was already a successful and published author when Mockingbird came out and Harper Lee was unknown. Mockingbird was Lee's first novel and because it was released to such high critical acclaim, many believed she could not have possibly written such a good book her first time out. This led to the misconception and rumor that Capote had actually written the book about their shared childhood in Monroeville, Alabama and then allowed his best friend, Lee, to publish it under her name.
Recently a letter came forward from 1960 that was written by Truman Capote where he talks about how good Mockingbird is but he never claims to have written it. Ultimately, the commonly held and accurate belief that Harper Lee wrote this American classic is true. While Truman Capote was her good friend, Dill Harris was based on him, and Capote did read drafts of the book, Capote did not write it.
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