Novelist Harper Lee dies at 89

She was best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the movie version of which got actor Gregory Peck an Oscar

American novelist Nelle Harper Lee, who was best known for her iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, died on Friday at the age of 89.

Born and raised in Monroeville, Alabama, Lee developed an interest in English literature while still in school. She later studied law for several years, and wrote for the university newspaper, but did not complete a degree.

In 1949, she moved to New York and took up a job as an airline reservation agent, writing fiction in her spare time.  

It was in 1957, when her penchant for writing was first noticed. Her manuscript, Go Set a Watchman, caught the fancy of one Therese von Hohoff Torrey, who was attached to J B Lippincott Company, a publishing firm. While Torrey didn't feel the work deserved bieng published in its existing form, she nevertheless led Lee from one draft to the next until the book finally achieved its finished form and was retitled To Kill a Mockingbird.

Published in 1960, the book went on to become a bestseller and even won the Pulitzer Prize the following year. It remains a bestseller, with more than 30 million copies in print. It was also made into a movie in which Gregory Peck played the role of the protagonist, Atticus Finch. Peck won an Oscar for the performance.