Watkin plans to use the new book, released this summer, in her literary adaptation class to show the progression of writing.
“Go Set a Watchman,” caused a stir in the literary world because most never expected to read another Harper Lee work.
“She wrote one of the best books of all time and then shortly after said she’d never write again,” Watkin says.
Watkin researched Lee’s life for a book she wrote, titled “How to Write About Harper Lee,” for the Bloom’s series. Lee rose to fame in the 1960s when “To Kill a Mockingbird” was published. She then retreated from the public eye for more than 50 years.
“She was someone who said for decades, ‘I’m done,’” Watkin says. “It’s a surprise she’d have anything she’d be willing to share.”
Lee exited on a high note. She was beloved for her first work, Watkin believes, because of the subject matter and the style she used to tell the story.
“One of the main things that resonates is the voice in that book. She captures Scout as a child – naïve, yet very wise. She also captures a moment in history,” Watkin says.
Watkin says Lee’s new book, “Got Set a Watchman,” is hard to classify. It’s been called a sequel because the new book takes place when the “Mockingbird” central character, Scout Finch, returns to Alabama as an adult. The book was actually written and submitted to her publisher before “To Kill a Mockingbird,” but it wasn’t accepted. HarperCollins published the found work in July.
“It’s like reading somebody’s draft,” Watkin says. “I believe the takeaway is to see a writer as a human being and someone with extraordinary skill. You don’t sit down and write ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ on the first try.”