Harper Lee, one of America's most celebrated novelists whose masterpiece To Kill a Mockingbird was read by millions worldwide, has passed away. She was 89.
In a statement, Lee's family said, "The family of Nelle Harper Lee, of Monroeville, Alabama, announced today, with great sadness, that Lee passed away in her sleep early this morning. Her passing was unexpected. She remained in good basic health until her passing. The family is in mourning and there will be a private funeral service in the upcoming days, as she had requested."
Added nephew Hank Conner in the statement, "This is a sad day for our family. America and the world knew Harper Lee as one of the last century's most beloved authors. We knew her as Nelle Harper Lee, a loving member of our family, a devoted friend to the many good people who touched her life, and a generous soul in our community and our state. We will miss her dearly."
To Kill a Mockingbird is considered one of the great classics of 20th century American literature, and is standard reading in classrooms across the world.
Mockingbird, which was published in 1960, was drawn from elements of Lee's childhood in Monroeville.
In steady prose shaded by memory and lyricism, she describes how an impulsive girl, Scout Finch, her older brother, Jem, their friend Dill and a variety of other townspeople get caught up in the case of Tom Robinson, a black man who's been accused of rape in the Depression-era town of Maycomb, Alabama.
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