Click for full-size.
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Lee, Harper
- Used
- near fine
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine/Very Good +
- Seller
-
Pasadena, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. First edition. Near Fine/Very Good +. A Near Fine copy of the book in a Very Good+ dust jacket. Spine a trifle cocked and a previous owner's name on the front paste-down. Dust jacket with the edge of the flaps skinned (after jacket protector removal), some minor creases to the jacket panels, but generally a fresh example of the jacket. Housed in a quarter-leather green slipcase with chemise.
Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning coming of age novel, set in Maycomb, Alabama. An American classic, the novel took over two years for Lee to write- it was inspired by her own upbringing. (In fact, Lee's father was a lawyer who had defended black clients at the cost of his practice). Its production was not without difficulty and Lee once became so angry over the course of writing the novel that she tossed the manuscript out a window. The book has never been out of print, sold tens of millions of copies, and is required reading for the American adolescent. To Kill a Mockingbird was also adapted by Horton Foote into a 1963 film, directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Gregory Peck. The film would win three Oscars. "...skilled, unpretentious, and totally ingenious." (Contemporary New Yorker review). Near Fine in Very Good + dust jacket.
Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning coming of age novel, set in Maycomb, Alabama. An American classic, the novel took over two years for Lee to write- it was inspired by her own upbringing. (In fact, Lee's father was a lawyer who had defended black clients at the cost of his practice). Its production was not without difficulty and Lee once became so angry over the course of writing the novel that she tossed the manuscript out a window. The book has never been out of print, sold tens of millions of copies, and is required reading for the American adolescent. To Kill a Mockingbird was also adapted by Horton Foote into a 1963 film, directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Gregory Peck. The film would win three Oscars. "...skilled, unpretentious, and totally ingenious." (Contemporary New Yorker review). Near Fine in Very Good + dust jacket.
Synopsis
To Kill a Mockingbird is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful and has become a classic of modern American literature. The plot and characters are loosely based on the author's observations of her family and neighbors, as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 10 years old. The novel is renowned for its warmth and humor, despite dealing with serious issues of rape and racial inequality.
Read More: Identifying first editions of To Kill a Mockingbird
Reviews
On Feb 28 2019, a reader said:
Wow....how special
On Aug 9 2015, CloggieDownunder said:
“I never deliberately learned to read……..Now that I was compelled to think about it, reading was something that just came to me, as learning to fasten the seat of my union suit without looking around, or achieving two bows from a snarl of shoelaces. I could not remember when the line above Atticus’s moving finger separated into words, but I had stared at them all the evenings in my memory, listening to the news of the day, Bills To Be Enacted into Laws, the diaries of Lorenzo Day - anything Atticus happened to be reading when I crawled into his lap every night. Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”
To Kill a Mockingbird is the first published novel by American author, Harper Lee. Almost-nine-year-old Scout (Jean Louise) Finch had never set eyes on her reclusive neighbour, Boo (Arthur) Radley, until the night of Halloween, 1935. To Scout, her almost-thirteen-year-old brother, Jem (Jeremy Atticus Finch) and their summer vacation friend, Dill (Charles Parker Harris), Boo Radley was an almost mythical creature who remained hidden in the Radley house and was the subject of much childhood speculation. Their fascination was frowned upon by their father, Atticus, a lawyer elected to the state legislature.
When Atticus took on the defence of a black man, he warned his children that some unpleasantness could well be the result. This was, after all, Alabama, and attitudes to race and class were strongly prejudiced, but what happened after the verdict was beyond anyone’s expectations.
Lee’s telling of events from Scout’s point of view gives the reader a unique perspective that includes much humour as Scout, Jem and Dill learn life’s lessons. The Finch’s black housekeeper, Calpurnia, their neighbour, Miss Maudie Atkinson, their Aunt Alexandra, Atticus, and even Jem are given words of wisdom that will resonate today as they did when the book was first published: “People in their right minds never take pride in their talents” and “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” are but two examples.
Lee’s book deserves multiple readings: each pass through will reveal new delights. Truman Capote’s description: “A touching book; and so funny, so likeable” is wholly apt. Unforgettable.
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Whitmore Rare Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 5862
- Title
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Author
- Lee, Harper
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good +
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Publisher
- Lippincott
- Place of Publication
- Philadelphia
- Date Published
- 1960
- Keywords
- Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs... That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.
Terms of Sale
Whitmore Rare Books
15 day return guarantee, with full refund if an item arrives damaged or not matching the description.
About the Seller
Whitmore Rare Books
Biblio member since 2009
Pasadena, California
About Whitmore Rare Books
We operate a retail shop in "Old Town" Pasadena open normal business hours Tuesday through Saturday.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Cocked
- Refers to a state where the spine of a book is lightly "twisted" in such a way that the front and rear boards of a book do not...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Flap(s)
- The portion of a book cover or cover jacket that folds into the book from front to back. The flap can contain biographical...
- Good+
- A term used to denote a condition a slight grade better than Good.
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Paste-down
- The paste-down is the portion of the endpaper that is glued to the inner boards of a hardback book. The paste-down forms an...
Frequently asked questions
This Book’s Categories
- Bindings & Editions Modern First Editions
- Fiction & Literature Fiction by Region American Fiction Southern Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Classic Literature
- Fiction & Literature Contemporary Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Historical Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Literary Studies Literary Criticism
- Fiction & Literature Modern Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Mystery & Thrillers Mystery Crime Fiction
The Importance of Dust Jackets
Is the dust jacket of a book worth holding on to? Consider its form, its function, and its beauty. Learn more about dust jackets and their importance to your collection.
Is your family bible valuable?
While they may have sentimental value, bibles passed down through the family are not often worth a lot of money. Learn more...
