As a woman, I always feel a little torn "celebrating" woman-specific accolades and honors. I'm not always convinced that we need to put the "woman" qualifier in front of the honor, but at the same time, I also feel it is important to make space for more marginalized groups. Whatever way you slice it, doling out any of those honors doesn't negate the accomplishment itself. And when it comes to author Harper Lee, who penned the true literary classic To Kill a Mockingbird, she deserves all the flowers given to her.
On Goodreads, Lee's classic tale earned the title of the "Best Woman-Authored Book" ever, and for what it has done not just for literature but for culture as a whole, it couldn't be more deserving.
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Lee's 1960 novel—which told the story of a lawyer father defending a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman through the eyes of his children, Scout and Jem—touched on so many different polarizing themes. Race, women's rights, deep Southern culture, and morality all swirled heavily throughout the text in a way that felt manageable to tackle through Lee's wit and humor. Just one year later, the novel earned a Pulitzer Prize and was eventually made into an Academy Award-winning film starring Hollywood great Gregory Peck.
Related: Pulitzer Prize Winner Who Surprisingly Only Published Two Novels Would Have Turned 100 Today
The History Behind 'To Kill a Mockingbird'
Lee's own life growing up in rural Alabama was the inspiration for her tale. A similar situation unfolded in a nearby town in 1936, and her story was fashioned from the way the adults in her hometown reacted to the news. While the setting may feel like a whole different world, the truth is, in today's society, we are still grappling with the racism and discrimination Tom Robinson faced. Perhaps that's why it continues to inspire readers over 66 years later.
"I cannot say enough good things about this book," wrote one reviewer in part of their praise for the timeless classic. "It is beautiful, it is devastating, and it is essential."
That isn't to say the novel is without criticism. Some feel it heavily plays up the "white savior" complex and reads like a "not all white people" placating text.
"This book was written by a white woman, from a white perspective, about white characters, for a white audience," emphasized one reader on the platform. "This book is a pat on the back for the white middle class. This book gives comfort to the white middle class. Comfort that they, especially back in the 1960s, didn't need, and—allow me to be so bold—didn't deserve."
Ultimately, though, her work is revered as some of the most prolific of our time. Lee published only one other novel, 2015's Go Set a Watchman, which served as a controversial sequel/rough draft to her iconic book and did not receive nearly as many accolades. However, her love of writing was palpable, and the fact that we are still passionately discussing her work six decades later is a testament to her lasting legacy as an author.
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