Hamilton-Wenham Library Gears Up for Harper Lee's 'Go Set a Watchman'

“Since Atlanta, she had looked out the dining-car window with a delight almost physical.”

So begins the most-anticipated novel perhaps in the history of publishing in the United States. Harper Lee’s ”Go Set a Watchman” goes on sale July 14, and the first chapter was released last Friday, adding yet another layer of excitement to the frenzy of media coverage that has accompanied the publication of Lee’s first book in 55 years.

The release is not without its fair share of controversy. Still, there is excitement across the country for the novel.

Hamilton-Wenham Public Library Director Jan Dempsey said curiosity is definitely piqued.

“People want to read it,” Dempsey said. “Everybody is going to be excited about anything that is from such a popular author.”

Dempsey said Hamilton-Wenham Public Library has ordered three or four regular print copiesa and a large-print version as well as ebooks, downloadable audio books and a book on CD.

She said the book vendor didn’t send copies of the book to the library ahead of time, but Hamilton-Wenham Library hopes to have the copies Tuesday and will get them processed and out to patrons as soon as possible.

According to the online catolog, nearly 390 people had placed holds on the regular print book throughout the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium. The ebook and audio book versions also have people lined up.

Dempsey did say that patrons cannot renew a print book for which there are people waiting, so those that check it out will have to read it during the first checkout period.

“Go Set A Watchman” takes place about 20 years after the events of “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Lee’s only other novel, which won a Pulitzer Prize and is regarded as one of the greatest works in the history of American literature.

The new novel, like the old, is told from the point of view of Scout Finch. Chapter One follows Scout as she journeys home to Maycomb, Alabama, from New York City.

Without giving away plot points or spoilers, a few updates to some characters and events already have some readers surprised and upset.

Lee, now 89, still lives in Monroeville, Alabama, the town for which fictional Maycomb is modeled. With her health declining, many have questioned whether she was competent enough to approve the release of the manuscript, which was found by her lawyer in 2014.

The state of Alabama opened an elder-abuse investigation against Lee’s lawyer, Tonja B. Carter, but found Lee was capable of giving consent to the publication of the novel.

“I’ll definitely read it,” Dempsey said. “I was a big fan of ‘To Killa Mockingbird’; however, I’m a little bit reticent as to this book because it just seems to odd. My question is ‘Did it get edited, or didn’t it get edited?’ It’s mysterious.”

Read the first chapter of Go Set A Watchman here.

Image courtesy Harper Collins