《杀死一只知更鸟》的作者将出第二本小说

Harper Lee, Author of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ Is to Publish a Second Novel

《杀死一只知更鸟》的作者将出第二本小说

Harper Lee, the reclusive author of the beloved best-selling novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” will publish a second novel in July, her publisher announced Tuesday.

周二，隐退作家哈珀·李(Harper Lee)的出版人宣布，她的第二本小说将于7月出版。哈珀·李是深受喜爱的畅销小说《杀死一只知更鸟》(To Kill a Mockingbird)的作者。

The recently rediscovered book, “Go Set a Watchman,” was completed in the mid-1950s, in the midst of the civil rights movement. It takes place 20 years after “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Though it’s effectively a sequel, Ms. Lee actually wrote “Go Set a Watchman” first. The 304-page novel takes place in the same fictional town, Maycomb, Ala., and unfolds as Scout Finch, the feisty child heroine of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” returns to visit her father, Atticus.

最近重新发现的小说手稿《设立守望者》(Go Set a Watchman)是在20世纪50年代中期的民权运动期间完成的。这个故事发生在《杀死一只知更鸟》的故事之后20年。虽然从故事角度讲，《设立守望者》是续集，但实际上它是先写完的。这本304页的小说也发生在虚构的阿拉巴马州梅科姆镇。开篇讲的是《杀死一只知更鸟》中活跃的小女孩主人公斯库特·芬奇(Scout Finch)回家乡看望父亲阿蒂克斯(Atticus)。

Ms. Lee said in a statement released by her publisher that her editor at the time was taken with Scout’s childhood flashbacks, and told her to write a different novel from Scout’s perspective.

在出版人发布的一项声明中，李说，当时她的编辑很喜欢斯库特对童年的回忆，让她从斯库特的视角写一本不同的小说。

“I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told,” Ms. Lee, 88, a native of Monroeville, Ala., said in the statement.

“那是我第一次写小说，所以我就照编辑说的去做，”88岁的李在声明中说。她是阿拉巴马州门罗维尔人。

That book became “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a classic that won the Pulitzer Prize, was adapted into a 1962 film and has sold more than 40 million copies globally since it was published in 1960. It continues to sell more than one million copies a year, and has been translated into more than 40 languages.

她后来写成的小说就是《杀死一只知更鸟》，这部经典之作获得了普利策奖，1962年被改编成电影，从1960年出版起在全球销售了4000多万册。现在它每年仍销售100多万册，被翻译成40多种语言。

The novel, which is considered to be an American masterpiece and became a staple of school curriculums, is set in Alabama during the Depression, as the young Scout and her family get swept up in the trial of a black man who is accused of raping a white woman. Scout’s father, who was played by Gregory Peck in the film adaptation, represents the accused man at trial. The novel explores themes of racial prejudice and injustice as well as love and a young girl’s coming of age.

这本小说被认为是美国经典著作，是美国学校指定的必读书目。它以经济大萧条时期的阿拉巴马州为背景，一名黑人被指控强奸了一位白人女性，年幼的斯库特和家人被卷入了这场审判。斯库特的父亲是这名黑人的辩护律师。在改编电影中，斯库特的父亲由格里高利·派克(Gregory Peck)饰演。这本小说探讨了种族偏见、社会不公以及爱、小女孩的成长等主题。

Ms. Lee never published another novel, despite pleas and prodding from readers and the literary establishment. She settled into a reclusive life and has rarely given interviews since the 1960s. She set the earlier book aside, and thought the draft had been lost or destroyed. Then last fall, her friend and lawyer, Tonja Carter, discovered the manuscript of “Go Set a Watchman” in what Ms. Lee said was “a secure location,” attached to an original typescript of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

李后来再也没出版过小说，尽管有很多读者和文学名人恳求她、鼓励她。她过上了隐居生活，从20世纪60年代起很少接受采访。她把之前写的那本书抛在脑后，以为草稿已丢失或被毁。去年秋天，她的朋友、律师托尼亚·卡特(Tonja Carter)在“一个安全的地方”(李在声明中的原话)发现了《设立守望者》的草稿，附在《杀死一只知更鸟》的一份原始打字稿之后。

“After much thought and hesitation I shared it with a handful of people I trust and was pleased to hear that they considered it worthy of publication. I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years,” Ms. Lee said in a statement.

“经过再三思考，我给少数几个我信任的人看了这部手稿，他们认为它值得出版，我听了很高兴。经过这么多年，现在它将被出版，我为此感到惭愧和惊喜，”李在声明中说。

Scholars have long been aware that Ms. Lee wrote an earlier manuscript, but many thought it was an early version of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” not a separate story that unfolds decades later. Everyone, including, apparently, Ms. Lee herself, believed it was lost.

学者们很早以前就知道，李之前写过一个草稿，但是很多人以为它是《杀死一只知更鸟》的一个早期版本，不知道它是从几十年后讲起的一个不同的故事。所有人，显然包括李本人，都以为手稿已丢失。

Charles J. Shields, who wrote a biography of Ms. Lee that was published by Henry Holt in 2006, said he came across references to “Go Set a Watchman” in Ms. Lee’s early correspondence with her literary agent. “’I figured it was an early draft of To Kill a Mockingbird’,” Mr. Shields said. He also saw references from Ms. Lee’s editor to repeated revisions of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” as she tried telling the story from three different perspectives.

查尔斯·J·希尔兹(Charles J. Shields)曾写过一本关于哈珀·李的传记，2006年由亨利霍尔特出版社(Henry Holt)出版。他说，他在李与文稿代理人的早期通信中无意中看到过提及《设立守望者》。“我以为它是《杀死一只知更鸟》的一个早期草稿，”希尔兹说。他还看到，李的编辑多次提到《杀死一只知更鸟》的反复修订稿，因为李努力想从三个不同的角度讲述这个故事。

Mr. Shields was skeptical that the new novel would hold up against Ms. Lee’s first book, which was an instant classic when she published it at age 34. The new book won’t be altered from the original manuscript. “We’re going to see what Harper Lee writes like without a strong editor’s hand, when she’s, quite honestly, an amateur,” Mr. Shields said.

希尔兹怀疑，这本新小说比不上李的第一本书，那本书在出版后立即成为经典，当时李才34岁。新书不会在原稿上进行任何修改。“我们将看到哈珀·李的作品未经编辑大力修改之前是什么样子的，坦白地讲，她当时是个业余作家，”希尔兹说。

The book’s publisher, Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins, plans to print two million copies of the new book, which is set for a July 14 release. The deal for the book was negotiated by Michael Morrison, president and publisher of HarperCollins U.S. General Books Group and Canada, and Ms. Carter.

这本书由哈珀柯林斯出版集团的哈珀出版社出版，计划于7月14日面世，初印200万册。这本书的协议是由哈珀柯林斯美国大众图书出版集团和加拿大出版公司的总裁、出版人迈克尔·莫里森(Michael Morrison)与卡特协商签订的。

“I, along with millions of others around the world, always wished that Harper Lee had written another book,” Mr. Morrison said in a statement. “And what a brilliant book this is. I love ‘Go Set a Watchman,’ and know that this masterpiece will be revered for generations to come.”

“我和世界各地的成百上千万读者一直希望哈珀·李再写一本书，”莫里森在一项声明中说，“这本书非常精彩。我非常喜欢《设立守望者》，我深信这本杰作将被世代景仰。”

Some critics and observers were skeptical of Ms. Lee’s role in approving the deal. All of Harper’s communication with Ms. Lee about the new book came through her lawyer, Ms. Carter, and her literary agent, Andrew Nurnberg, including the statement she gave expressing her delight that the novel would finally be published, according to Jonathan Burnham, senior vice president and publisher of Harper. “We talked to her through her lawyer and friend Tonja Carter,” Mr. Burnham said, adding that he was “completely confident” that Ms. Lee understood and approved of the deal and that speaking directly with Ms. Lee “wasn’t necessary.”

有些批评家和观察者对李在赞成这项协议中扮演的角色表示怀疑。据哈珀出版社的高级副总裁、出版人乔纳森·伯纳姆(Jonathan Burnham)说，哈珀出版社与李关于这本新书的沟通都是通过她的律师卡特以及她的文学代理人安德鲁·尼恩贝格(Andrew Nurnberg)进行的，包括那份声明——她在声明中称，为这本小说最终得以出版感到高兴。“我们通过她的律师、朋友托尼亚·卡特与她交流，”伯纳姆说。他补充说，他对李理解并赞成这项协议“充满信心”，认为“没有必要”直接与李交谈。