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The Life behind To Kill a Mockingbird

It’s Lit! is a series of smart, funny video essays about our favorite books and why we love to read. Hosted by Lindsay Ellis and Princess Weekes, the series delves into topics like the evolution of YA, how science fiction mirrors our own anxieties, and why the book is sometimes just a _bit_ better than the movie.

The Life behind To Kill a Mockingbird

Season 2 Episode 23 | 12m 31s | CC

For decades it has been widely read in high schools and middle schools as a key anti-racist text. But how did this novel, with its Southern Gothic and Bildungsroman elements become a book that in 2006 the British said “every adult should read before they die” ahead of the Bible. To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee and was loosely based on Lee’s real-life experiences.

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Made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.