After Hours Book Club — “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

Thursday, January 19, 2023
7:30 pm - 8:30 pm

About the Book

To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression. Scout Finch is an intelligent though unconventional girl. She is raised with her brother, Jem, by their widowed father, Atticus Finch. He is a prominent lawyer who encourages his children to be empathetic and just.

When Tom Robinson, one of the town’s Black residents, is falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman, Atticus agrees to defend him despite threats from the community. Although Atticus presents a defense that gives a more plausible interpretation of the evidence—that Mayella was attacked by her father, Bob Ewell—Tom is convicted, and he is later killed while trying to escape custody.

The children, meanwhile, play out their own miniaturized drama as they become interested in Boo Radley, a reclusive neighbor. They have their own ideas about him and cannot resist the allure of trespassing on the Radley property. Boo makes his presence felt indirectly through a series of benevolent acts, finally intervening when Bob Ewell attacks Jem and Scout.

About the author

Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama. She moved to New York in 1950, where she worked as a reservation clerk with Eastern Air Lines and BOAC. Lee continued as a reservation clerk until the late 50s, when she devoted herself to writing. Within a year, she had a first draft. Working with J. B. Lippincott & Co. editor Tay Hohoff, she completed To Kill a Mockingbird in the summer of 1959. Published July 11, 1960, the novel was an immediate bestseller and won great critical acclaim, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961. It remains a bestseller with more than 30 million copies in print.

About the event

Please note any accommodation requests in the Special Needs section of the registration form.

If you have any other questions, please contact Amy Carroll at acarroll@cc-pl.org

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Alexandria Branch