The Mockingbird Next Door: Life With Harper Lee (35 page)

The Lee sisters took me on extraordinary guided tours of a rapidly disappearing South. Alice often led the way as we explored the red dirt roads of the Lee sisters’ youth.

In a departure from her usual policy, Nelle Harper allowed the
Chicago Tribune
’s Terrence James to photograph her for my 2002 newspaper story.
From The Chicago Tribune, September 13, 2002 © 2002 Chicago Tribune

Nelle enjoyed a good laugh at dinner with her sister, Alice, at Radley’s Deli (named for the reclusive Boo Radley of
To Kill a Mockingbird
).
From The Chicago Tribune, September 13, 2002 © 2002 Chicago Tribune

Photographs of Alice and Nelle’s parents, A. C. and Frances Lee, hang in the entryway of their home; Methodist minister Tom Butts (right) has been a close friend of both Lee sisters for decades.
From The Chicago Tribune, September 13, 2002 © 2002 Chicago Tribune

Nelle found another home when she moved to New York City in 1949, and she split time between the city and Monroeville for many years.

When Nelle was in New York, Julia Munnerlyn took her place driving Alice to the office and staying overnight in Nelle’s back bedroom.

The Lees’ dining room also served as storage for their many, many books.

The Lee house is several blocks from the town square and on a quiet street across from Nelle’s former high school.

Nelle told me that this home, on Claiborne Street, was the inspiration for Boo Radley’s house.

Tom and Nelle loved going fishing; reading widely and discussing history and religion; exploring the area; and swapping stories of colorful characters from 1930s Monroe and Conecuh counties. They also enjoyed exploring New York together on Tom’s regular visits there.

In May 1961, Nelle posed for
Life
magazine in the balcony of Monreville’s old courthouse.
Donald Uhrbrock/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

As a young couple, Frances and A. C. Lee shared this house with the Barnett family, lifelong friends.