<P> Donations from friends allowed her to write uninterrupted for a year . After finishing the first draft and returning it to Lippincott, the manuscript, at that point titled "Go Set a Watchman", fell into the hands of Therese von Hohoff Torrey, known professionally as Tay Hohoff . Hohoff was impressed, "(T) he spark of the true writer flashed in every line," she would later recount in a corporate history of Lippincott, but as Hohoff saw it, the manuscript was by no means fit for publication . It was, as she described it, "more a series of anecdotes than a fully conceived novel ." During the following two and a half years, she led Lee from one draft to the next until the book finally achieved its finished form . </P> <P> After the "Watchman" title was rejected, it was re-titled Atticus but Lee renamed it To Kill a Mockingbird to reflect that the story went beyond a character portrait . The book was published on July 11, 1960 . The editorial team at Lippincott warned Lee that she would probably sell only several thousand copies . In 1964, Lee recalled her hopes for the book when she said, "I never expected any sort of success with' Mockingbird .'...I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of the reviewers but, at the same time, I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement . Public encouragement . I hoped for a little, as I said, but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways this was just about as frightening as the quick, merciful death I'd expected ." Instead of a "quick and merciful death", Reader's Digest Condensed Books chose the book for reprinting in part, which gave it a wide readership immediately . Since the original publication, the book has never been out of print . </P> <P> The story takes place during three years (1933--35) of the Great Depression in the fictional "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama, the seat of Maycomb County . It focuses on six - year - old Jean Louise Finch (nicknamed Scout), who lives with her older brother, Jeremy (nicknamed Jem), and their widowed father, Atticus, a middle - aged lawyer . Jem and Scout befriend a boy named Dill, who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt each summer . The three children are terrified yet fascinated by their neighbor, the reclusive Arthur "Boo" Radley . The adults of Maycomb are hesitant to talk about Boo, and few of them have seen him for many years . The children feed one another's imagination with rumors about his appearance and reasons for remaining hidden, and they fantasize about how to get him out of his house . After two summers of friendship with Dill, Scout and Jem find that someone leaves them small gifts in a tree outside the Radley place . Several times the mysterious Boo makes gestures of affection to the children, but, to their disappointment, he never appears in person . </P> <P> Judge Taylor appoints Atticus to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell . Although many of Maycomb's citizens disapprove, Atticus agrees to defend Tom to the best of his ability . Other children taunt Jem and Scout for Atticus's actions, calling him a "nigger - lover". Scout is tempted to stand up for her father's honor by fighting, even though he has told her not to . Atticus faces a group of men intent on lynching Tom . This danger is averted when Scout, Jem, and Dill shame the mob into dispersing by forcing them to view the situation from Atticus' and Tom's perspective . </P>

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