Later Years

Harper Lee developed an interest in English literature during high school, where she attended Monroe County High School.  She graduated in 1944, then attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery for her post secondary education.  Harper Lee was very different from the rest of the students-she showed no interest in fashion, makeup, or dating.  She was mainly interested in her writing, as well as the rest of her studies.  She was a member of the literary honor society.

Harper Lee was very individual, and was known for being a loner when she transferred to the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.  She attempted at somewhat of a social life here when she joined a sorority.  She was also a part of the school's newspaper, as well as its humor magazine, the Rammer Jammer.  Later, she became the editor for this magazine.

Lee left the magazine when she was accepted into the law school at her university.  After her first year, she expressed to her family that law wasn't her true calling, and writing was.  It was then that she went to Oxford University in England during the summer.  When she returned to study law in the fall, she quickly dropped out and moved to New York City, to follow her dream of becoming a writer.

Harper Lee was 23 years old when she arrived in New York City, where she worked as a ticket agent for Eastern Airlines, as well as the British Overseas Air Corp.  Later, she met up with her old friend Truman Capote, who at that time, was a literary rising star.  By this time, Lee had written multiple long stories and decided to find an agent.  A month later, in December of 1956, a gift was given to her.  This gift included a year's wages, as well as a note saying she could have a year off from her job to write whatever she wished.  Sure enough, she quit her job, and after a year had passed, a first draft of To Kill A Mockingbird was completed with the help of J.B. Lippincott and Co. editor Tay Hohoff.