Professor Joseph Crespino will discuss his acclaimed new book Atticus Finch: The Biography. Who was Atticus Finch? The publication of Go Set a Watchman in 2015 forever changed how we think about this character. Once seen as a paragon of decency, he was reduced to a small-town racist. How are we to understand this transformation?
In Atticus Finch, historian Joseph Crespino draws on exclusive sources to reveal how Harper Lee's father provided the central inspiration for each of her books. A lawyer and newspaperman, A. C. Lee was a principled opponent of mob rule, yet he was also a racial paternalist. Harper Lee created the Atticus of Watchman out of the ambivalence she felt toward white southerners like him. But when a militant segregationist movement arose that mocked his values, she revised the character in To Kill a Mockingbird to defend her father and to remind the South of its best traditions.
A story of family and literature amid the upheavals of the twentieth century, Atticus Finch is essential to understanding Harper Lee, her novels, and her times. "A thoughtful, fascinating study offering fresh revelations and insights about To Kill a Mockingbird.... Atticus Finch is a valuable new key to the mystery that is Ms. Lee."
Admission/Cost: FREE
Location:
D.G. Wills Books
7461 Girard Avenue
San Diego, CA 92037
Sunday, August 5 - 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
For more information, please call: (858) 456-1800 or visit: www.dgwillsbooks.com
In Atticus Finch, historian Joseph Crespino draws on exclusive sources to reveal how Harper Lee's father provided the central inspiration for each of her books. A lawyer and newspaperman, A. C. Lee was a principled opponent of mob rule, yet he was also a racial paternalist. Harper Lee created the Atticus of Watchman out of the ambivalence she felt toward white southerners like him. But when a militant segregationist movement arose that mocked his values, she revised the character in To Kill a Mockingbird to defend her father and to remind the South of its best traditions.
A story of family and literature amid the upheavals of the twentieth century, Atticus Finch is essential to understanding Harper Lee, her novels, and her times. "A thoughtful, fascinating study offering fresh revelations and insights about To Kill a Mockingbird.... Atticus Finch is a valuable new key to the mystery that is Ms. Lee."
Admission/Cost: FREE
Location:
D.G. Wills Books
7461 Girard Avenue
San Diego, CA 92037
Sunday, August 5 - 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
For more information, please call: (858) 456-1800 or visit: www.dgwillsbooks.com
