Author Harper Lee, whose To Kill A Mockingbird became one of the country's most beloved novels, has died at age 89.
Her death was confirmed by a number of sources in Monroeville, Alabama, the author's hometown.
Lee, whose long-unpublished "prequel" to To Kill A Mockingbird, Go Set A Watchman, was released last year to much fanfare (if not equal critical acclaim), was born in Monroeville in 1926. The latter book was never meant to see the light of day—an editor who had seen it suggested major changes and the book eventually went on to become To Kill A Mockingbird.
She won the Pulitzer Prize for Mockingbird, which went on to sell 40 million copies worldwide.
For much of her life, Lee—a close friend and confidante of Truman Capote—was something of a recluse, shying away from media attention and public demand for a follow-up to her phenomenally successful book.
The author suffered a stroke in 2007, but recovered and spent the remainder of her days in Monroeville.
It was recently announced that Aaron Sorkin would be adapting To Kill A Mockingbird for Broadway.