--- description: Major changes to Maycomb in the new novel's first chapter title: Harper Lee Axes Key 'Mockingbird' Character image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5b67e3c018e37e20/69885a69196cf494c20370cc/gettyimages-77695641.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Harper Lee's _Go Set a Watchman_ Kills Off Major _To Kill a Mockingbird_ Character  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 10, 2015 2:42 PM CUT  Pulitzer Prize winner and 'To Kill A Mockingbird' author Harper Lee smiles before receiving the 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House November 5, 2007 in Washington, DC Pulitzer Prize winner and 'To Kill A Mockingbird' author Harper Lee smiles before receiving the 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House November 5, 2007 in Washington, DCChip Somodevilla—Getty Images  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 10, 2015 2:42 PM CUT _Go Set a Watchman_, Harper Lee’s novel to be published Tuesday, had its first chapter unveiled in [_The Wall Street Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/harper-lees-go-set-a-watchman-read-the-first-chapter-1436500861 "undefined")and [_The Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/books/ng-interactive/2015/jul/10/go-set-a-watchman-read-the-first-chapter "undefined") late last night. The novel, an early work depicting Scout Finch as an adult woman that was rewritten and published as _To Kill a Mockingbird_, represents something far more complicated than a continuation of a familiar story. Indeed, the first glimpse at the book’s contents indicated that all those who’ve been eagerly awaiting the follow-up to American classic _To Kill a Mockingbird_ will have a mixed blessing on their hands, as a major _Mockingbird_ character will not be a part of the action. Jem Finch, one of the central characters of _To Kill a Mockingbird_, has died before the action of _Go Set a Watchman_. The published excerpt concerns Jean Louise Finch (formerly known as Scout) returning to visit her father Atticus in Maycomb, Ala.; after concerning itself for a while with one of Jem and Scout’s longtime friends, a man romantically pursuing Scout now, Lee’s third-person narrator blandly states, “Jean Louise’s brother dropped dead in his tracks one day.” One of the most important relationships in _To Kill a Mockingbird_ is now effectively over; fans of _To Kill a Mockingbird_ who’ve been hoping to return to Maycomb for decades will not revisit one of its most sensitive and complex residents. ### See Harper Lee's Secluded Alabama Life  Caption from LIFE. Miss Lee pauses on balcony of local courthouse where she set climactic trial of a Negro who gets railroaded by small-town bigots. "The trial was a composite of all trials in the world - some in the South. But the courthouse was this one. My father's a lawyer, so I grew up in this room, and mostly I watched him from here." Donald Uhrbrock—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Harper Lee visiting her hometown, Monroeville, Alabama, in 1961. Donald Uhrbrock—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Miss Lee inspects old house much like neighborhood mystery house in book. "I remember this as the old Hodge place. Now no one lives here, so a lot of the children call it haunted, and they use it as a clubhouse." Donald Uhrbrock—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Reclining in chaise, she chats with father, Amasa Lee, 80, on screen porch. He was real-life model for her sage hero, Atticus Finch. "My father is one of the few men I've known, who has genuine humility, and it lends him a natural dignity. He has absolutely no ego drive, and so he is one of the most beloved men in this part of the state." Donald Uhrbrock—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. In hometown getup, she ambles in playground of school she once attended. "This was our favorite meeting place during recess and lunch. Here we had our fights, our marble games and hid our love notes." Donald Uhrbrock—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. At her father's law office where she wrote "Mockingbird," Miss Lee works on her next novel. Donald Uhrbrock—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images Such is life: Various other aspects of chapter 1, including an ominous focus on Atticus Finch’s declining health, indicate that the full text of _Go Set a Watchman_ will present a significant challenge to those who turn to literature, in part, to spend time with characters they love. (That is to say: The vast majority of readers.) Gone, too, is Scout’s own voice; while _To Kill a Mockingbird_ was narrated by a woman looking back at a scrappy girlhood, _Go Set a Watchman_ gives us access to Scout’s thoughts from the third-person voice. It’ll take some getting used to. But if _Go Set a Watchman_ were entirely more of the same, there’d be no reason for it to exist at all. Fans could just reread _To Kill a Mockingbird_, as, indeed, they’ve been doing for more than half a century. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3952762/harper-lees-go-set-a-watchman-mockingbird/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3952762/harper-lees-go-set-a-watchman-mockingbird/"},"headline":"Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman Kills Off Major To Kill a Mockingbird Character","datePublished":"2015-07-10T14:42:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:33.945Z","description":"Major changes to Maycomb in the new novel's first chapter","url":"https://time.com/3952762/harper-lees-go-set-a-watchman-mockingbird/","keywords":["Books","To Kill a Mockingbird","Harper Lee"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5b67e3c018e37e20/69885a69196cf494c20370cc/gettyimages-77695641.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel D'Addario","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5b67e3c018e37e20/69885a69196cf494c20370cc/gettyimages-77695641.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-77695641","caption":"Pulitzer Prize winner and 'To Kill A Mockingbird' author Harper Lee smiles before receiving the 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House November 5, 2007 in Washington, DC","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3952762/harper-lees-go-set-a-watchman-mockingbird/","name":"Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman Kills Off Major To Kill a Mockingbird Character"}}]}] ```