To Kill a Mockingbird (with signed letter)
- SIGNED
- Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Company, 1960
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Company, 1960. First edition. Near Fine/Very Good +. With a heartfelt TLS from Harper Lee to reader Anne M. Virgil, wishing her a happy birthday and reflecting on the emotional experience of receiving a reader's feedback: "It's letters like yours, not book reviews, that keep a writer at work. Ours is the loneliest profession in the world, and nothing pleases us more than to hear from someone who likes our work, because after all, we write for people like you." The letter is dated September 17, 1960, just two months after the publication of the novel. With a typed envelope addressed to Anne M. Virgil in San Francisco.
A Near Fine copy in Very Good+ dust jacket. Publisher's green cloth over brown paper boards. Edges of boards a bit sunned. With the bookplate of Anne M. Virgil to upper pastedown. Dust jacket with some wear and a bit of chipping to edges. Back panel with some abrasion and couple shallow scratches near flap fold. Housed in a custom green quarter morocco clamshell case. Overall a nice example with a heartfelt letter from Lee to a reader.
To Kill a Mockingbird is Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning coming-of-age novel set in Maycomb, Alabama. An American classic, which took Lee over two years write, was inspired by her own upbringing - in fact, Lee's father was a lawyer who had defended Black clients at the cost of his practice. Its production was not without difficulty and Lee once became so angry over the course of writing the novel that she tossed the manuscript out a window. The book has never been out of print, has sold tens of millions of copies, and is required reading for the American adolescent. To Kill a Mockingbird was also adapted by Horton Foote into a 1963 film, directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Gregory Peck, which won three Oscars.
The letter reads in full: "September 17, 1960. Dear Miss Virgil: Please accept this belated but heartfelt, 'Thank you!' for your wonderful letter and your kindness in writing it. It's letters like yours, not book reviews, that keep a writer at work. Ours is the loneliest profession in the world, and nothing pleases us more than to hear from someone who likes our work, because after all, we write for people like you. Sincerely yours, Harper Lee." Near Fine in Very Good + dust jacket.
A Near Fine copy in Very Good+ dust jacket. Publisher's green cloth over brown paper boards. Edges of boards a bit sunned. With the bookplate of Anne M. Virgil to upper pastedown. Dust jacket with some wear and a bit of chipping to edges. Back panel with some abrasion and couple shallow scratches near flap fold. Housed in a custom green quarter morocco clamshell case. Overall a nice example with a heartfelt letter from Lee to a reader.
To Kill a Mockingbird is Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning coming-of-age novel set in Maycomb, Alabama. An American classic, which took Lee over two years write, was inspired by her own upbringing - in fact, Lee's father was a lawyer who had defended Black clients at the cost of his practice. Its production was not without difficulty and Lee once became so angry over the course of writing the novel that she tossed the manuscript out a window. The book has never been out of print, has sold tens of millions of copies, and is required reading for the American adolescent. To Kill a Mockingbird was also adapted by Horton Foote into a 1963 film, directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Gregory Peck, which won three Oscars.
The letter reads in full: "September 17, 1960. Dear Miss Virgil: Please accept this belated but heartfelt, 'Thank you!' for your wonderful letter and your kindness in writing it. It's letters like yours, not book reviews, that keep a writer at work. Ours is the loneliest profession in the world, and nothing pleases us more than to hear from someone who likes our work, because after all, we write for people like you. Sincerely yours, Harper Lee." Near Fine in Very Good + dust jacket.
Details
Title
To Kill a Mockingbird (with signed letter)
Author
Lee, Harper
Condition
Very Good
Publisher
J.B. Lippincott & Company: Philadelphia
Date
1960
Edition
First edition