Shortly after sunrise Tuesday, the doors opened at the Old Courthouse Museum in Monroeville, Ala., and a bell tolled.
In the hometown and residence of Harper Lee, it was time to start a marathon reading of “Go Set a Watchman,” the book no one ever thought they would see from the author of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Lee fans worldwide stayed up late, awakened early and dashed off during meal breaks to pick up a copy of the year’s most anticipated novel, “Go Set a Watchman,” which came out Tuesday. From the moment publisher HarperCollins, announced “Watchman” in early February, reactions of ecstatic disbelief have been shadowed by concerns about the book’s quality, the 89-year-old Lee’s involvement in the release and the jarring transformation of Atticus Finch.
“I don’t think it’s going to damage Harper Lee’s legacy,” Susan Scullin, a teacher in New York City, said of “Watchman” as she prepared to buy a copy at the Barnes & Noble in Manhattan. “It might damage Atticus Finch’s legacy, and that makes me a little nervous.”
