<Tr> <Th> ISBN </Th> <Td> 978 - 0 - 06 - 240985 - 0 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Preceded by </Th> <Td> To Kill a Mockingbird </Td> </Tr> <P> Go Set a Watchman is a novel by Harper Lee published on July 14, 2015, by HarperCollins in the United States and Willam Heinemann in the United Kingdom . Although written before her first and only other published novel, the Pulitzer Prize - winning To Kill a Mockingbird--and initially promoted by its publisher as a sequel--it is now more widely accepted as being a first draft of the famous novel . The title comes from Isaiah 21: 6: "For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth ." It alludes to Jean Louise Finch's view of her father, Atticus Finch, as the moral compass ("watchman") of Maycomb, and has a theme of disillusionment, as she discovers the extent of the bigotry in her home community . </P> <P> The book's unexpected and controversial discovery, decades after it was written, together with the exceptional eminence of the author's only other book--an American classic--caused its publication to be highly anticipated; Amazon stated that it was their "most pre-ordered book" since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007, and stores arranged all - night openings from midnight to cope with expected demand . </P>

Where does the phrase go set a watchman come from