Harper Lee, the eighty-eight year old author from Monroeville, Alabama, has long been known for writing one book and one book only: the timeless To Kill a Mockingbird. Her book, based on the racism she encountered in her own childhood, went on to become a great American classic that is read in high schools all around the country to this day. The story, published all the way back in 1960, takes place in Lee’s home state of Alabama and centers around the young character Scout Finch and her father, Atticus, a lawyer who makes the controversial decision to defend an African-American man accused of rape. Harper Lee has been tempted to let the story remain unpublished for over half a century. But now, she has decided to release a sequel to the celebrated classic.

Set to be published on July 14, 2015, Lee’s new book Go Set a Watchman is already number one on Amazon’s bestseller rank (and it just started to accept pre-orders)! At this point, all that is known about the plot is that it is set twenty years after the first book, where the adult Scout Finch goes back to her hometown of Maycomb to visit her father Atticus. Surprisingly enough, however, the sequel was actually written in the mid 1950s, years before she wrote her To Kill a Mockingbird. When Lee showed Go Set a Watchman to her publisher in the Fifties, he suggested  she write a different novel from the perspective of a younger Scout. So, Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, where Scout was only 6 years old, and began making plans for a trilogy (the second installment being a shorter connecting book). However, the manuscript for Go Set a Watchman was put aside and eventually forgotten, only having been found last year by Lee’s attorney following the death of her sister. The connecting book was never written.

The title is said to come from the Bible, specifically, Isaiah 21:6, “For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.” The title alludes to Scout’s view of her father Atticus as the moral compass, or “watchman,” of Maycomb.

The announcement of the book’s arrival has not been without controversy, with some suggested foul play is involved in its publishing. The existence of this book has never been kept a secret, and those closest to Lee have said that she originally planned for the book to be released after her death. The premature release of the book has caused many to speculate that Lee was manipulated into releasing the book–citing her declining health, old age, and several statements made by her saying that she did not plan to release another novel. The death of her sister–her lawyer and sole advocate–has led many to believe her publisher is taking advantage of her and forcing her into releasing the novel. In fact, Lee said herself that “I have said what I wanted to say and I will not say it again,” when asked about a second novel. In 2007, Lee had a stroke and is “getting progressively deafer and more blind,” according to her editor.

Despite the controversies and conspiracy theories, Lee has described herself as “happy as hell” that her novel is finally being published. The world may never truly know what went on behind the scenes of the long awaited release of “Go Set a Watchman.” And whether Lee truly does want her novel to be published, or if she is just being strong-armed into it, her longtime fans hope that the excitement and speculation surrounding the novel’s release will not be better than the novel itself. As for myself, I just hope that Lee—long respected for her choice to not to keep spitting out books—will not ruin the charm of her first book with a cheap sequel.