Monroeville: The Search for Harper Lee’s Maycomb

For 39 years, people from all over the world and all walks of life have come to the small town of Monroeville, Alabama, in search of a place called Maycomb. They come in search of a story that have moved millions of people with its enduring message, and in search of the world of the storyteller. Monroeville: The Search for Harper Lee’s Maycomb explores the relationship between Harper Lee’s hometown and the setting of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Born in response to the curiosities of visitors to the Monroe County Heritage Museums, this book explores the parallels between the tow worlds through vintage images and informative captions. Included are photographs of the Lee family and the author in her early years; the sights of Monroeville that undoubtedly inspired the setting of Maycomb; the cast of the Oscar-winning film adaptation that premiered in 1963; and the Mockingbird Players, a group of Monroeville residents who, each year in May, present an authentic production of the two-act play adapted by Christopher Sergel. Among the visitors to Monroeville are teachers and lawyers making a pilgrimage to Atticus’ courtroom, scholars in search of unanswered questions, and fans of the novel trying to capture a glimpse of Scout’s world. The Monroe County Heritage Museums, under the direction of Kathy McCoy, made this possible in 1991 with the opening of the Old Courthouse Museum on the town square. Visitors now leave Monroeville feeling as if they walked the streets of Maycomb on a hot summer day, enchanted by the imagined presence of Sout, Jem, and Dill exploring their neighborhood in an era of tumultuous change.