<P> 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--a small, wiry veteran editor in her late 50s . 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 next couple of years, she led Lee from one draft to the next until the book finally achieved its finished form and was retitled To Kill a Mockingbird . </P> <P> Ultimately, Lee spent over two and a half years writing To Kill a Mockingbird . The book was published on July 11, 1960 . After rejecting the "Watchman" title, it was initially re-titled Atticus, but Lee renamed it "To Kill a Mockingbird" to reflect that the story went beyond just a character portrait . 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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