Excitement for new Harper Lee book, but some also worry she is being exploited

"In the mid-1950s, I completed a novel called Go Set a Watchman," reclusive author Harper Lee said yesterday. "It features the character known as Scout [from To Kill a Mockingbird] as an adult woman, and I thought it a pretty decent effort."

"I hadn't realized it had survived, so was surprised and delighted when my dear friend and lawyer Tonja Carter discovered it. 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."

The news of Go Set a Watchman immediately sent the literary world into spasms of anticipation for its July publication. 

The book's protagonist will be Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird, but it will feature her as an adult. It is reportedly set during the time of the civil rights movement. It is a pre-sequel of sorts; Lee wrote it before To Kill a Mockingbird, but she shelved it after her editor urged her to write a new book featuring Scout as a child, which became To Kill a Mockingbird.

Amidst all the hoopla, concerns have started to surface. 

"At first I was thrilled. I've been a long-time fan of [To Kill a Mockingbird]" says Megan Garber, who wrote about the announcement for The Atlantic magazine. "And then I started thinking about it more." 

Why the sudden, inexplicable change of heart? Lee, who hasn't given an interview in decades, said long ago that she had no interest in publishing another book. Was she being exploited? Gerber did some research on Lee, and learned that the 88-year-old author has been in poor health recently. "According to several reports, she's pretty much blind and deaf, her memory isn't very good. I started wondering how could someone like that approve this book?"

Lee's statement was just that: a statement, released through HarperCollins. The publisher admits that none of its staff had spoken directly to the author.

And then there is the timing. Her sister Alice Lee, who fervently protected the reclusive author's privacy and literary interests, died less than three months ago. Garber hopes Lee is not being exploited now that her protector is gone.

"It's really hard to tell. I hope that isn't the case because that would be so sad on so many levels," she says. "You could see it almost as a form of elder abuse if she is somewhat defenceless with all the medical problems she has had."

Garber points out that part of To Kill a Mockingbird's enduring appeal is that Lee wrote it from the perspective of people who were taken advantage of in various ways. 

"Harper Lee has spent her life defending people who haven't had power ... so to have that be one of the pieces of her legacy would be tremendously sad."

Garber says she is both excited and conflicted about reading Go Set a Watchman.

"If she didn't want it to be published, then on some level she doesn't want me reading it. So I would have qualms about it. But like I said, my first reaction was excitement."

HarperCollins maintains that Lee is very much on board with Go Set a Watchman's upcoming publication.