She’s back! Harper Lee was photographed for the first time in six years last week.
The iconic author, 89, made a rare appearance to promote her new book, Go Set a Watchman. Lee will debut her sophomore novel to much hype more than 55 years after the release of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Lee was snapped discussing her new book in a chat with her longtime friend and benefactor, Joy Brown, and documentary filmmaker Mary McDonagh Murphy. Murphy, who led the new PBS special Harper Lee: American Masters, met with her documentary subject and her pal in Lee’s hometown of Monroeville, Ala.
While some questions have been raised in recent months about Lee’s health and ability, she looks put-together in the new photo and seems to carry on a conversation with the two women.
The author has been residing in an assisted-living facility in recent years as she ages, and some supporters questioned why her book was hitting shelves now, decades after she wrote it. The concern inspired an investigation into Lee’s care, but Alabama officials confirmed this past April that Lee was in good hands and was not forced into publishing her second book.
Ahead of its July 14 release date, Go Set a Watchman was teased with an extended excerpt on Friday, July 10. The first chapter was made available on The Guardian‘s website, offering readers their first new taste of Scout and Atticus in more than half a century.