Skip to main content
Saturday, October 31, 2026Oct 31
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

This story is free to read.

First chapter of new Harper Lee novel is previewed

FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2007, file photo, author Harper Lee smiles during a ceremony honoring the four new members of the Alabama Academy of Honor at the Capitol in Montgomery, Ala. The first chapter to Lee's "Go Set a Watchman" ran in Friday's editions of The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian, as anticipation grows for her first book since "To Kill a Mockingbird" is set to be released on July 14. (AP Photo/Rob Carr, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2007, file photo, author Harper Lee smiles during a ceremony honoring the four new members of the Alabama Academy of Honor at the Capitol in Montgomery, Ala. The first chapter to Lee's "Go Set a Watchman" ran in Friday's editions of The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian, as anticipation grows for her first book since "To Kill a Mockingbird" is set to be released on July 14. (AP Photo/Rob Carr, File) FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2007, file photo, author Harper Lee smiles during a ceremony honoring the four new members of the Alabama Academy of Honor at the Capitol in Montgomery, Ala. The first chapter to Lee's "Go Set a Watchman" ran in Friday's editions of The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian, as anticipation grows for her first book since "To Kill a Mockingbird" is set to be released on July 14. (AP Photo/Rob Carr, File)

By Associated Press 1 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – The first chapter of Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman” begins with a grown up Scout returning by train to Maycomb, Alabama, where she is greeted by a young man who wants to marry her.

“Go Set a Watchman,” the most unexpected second novel in memory, is coming out July 14. It takes place in the 1950s, 20 years after the setting for “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book.

The chapter ran in Friday’s editions of The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian as anticipation grows for Lee’s first book since “To Kill a Mockingbird.” U.S. publisher HarperCollins has said that pre-orders for “Go Set a Watchman” are the highest in company history and bookstores worldwide are planning events to celebrate the book’s release.