Back to Show
It's Lit!
The Life behind To Kill a Mockingbird
Season 2
Episode 23
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.
Support Provided By
7:43
Get to know the story behind some of literature’s most iconic book covers.
5:47
Why are some books required reading in high school while others are lost to history?
6:00
Fantasy novels are more than just hundreds of pages worth of swords and magic!
5:53
Love it or hate it, the romance novel is the highest grossing literary genre.
6:10
The origin story of science fiction is shaped throughout several centuries.