Harper Lee 1926-2016

Harper Lee, author of the classic "To Kill a Mockingbird," about a child's view of racism and injustice in a segregated Alabama town, whose second published novel became last year's bestselling fiction in America, has died at age 89.

Pictured: Harper Lee in 1963.

Harper Lee

Born in Monroeville, Alabama, Nelle Harper Lee had a father who - like Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird" - was a lawyer and state legislator.

Harper Lee and Truman Capote

Lee was childhood friends with Truman Capote (who lived with relatives next door), and in the 1950s she traveled with Capote during his research for what would become "In Cold Blood."

"I think you can make a very good case for the fact that there would be no 'In Cold Blood' were it not for the research she did," said Lee's friend, Wayne Flynt.

"To Kill a Mockingbird"

Lee's first published novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1960), tells the story of a girl nicknamed Scout growing up in a Depression-era Southern town modeled after Lee's hometown of Monroeville. When a black man is wrongly accused of raping a white woman, Scout's father, Atticus Finch, takes on the role of defense attorney, despite threats and scorn from his neighbors.

The book became a bestseller, and won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. By 2015, HarperCollins reported the book's sales to be more than 40 million copies worldwide, making it one of the most widely-read American novels of the 20th century.

"To Kill a Mockingbird"

In 1962, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was adapted into a powerful motion picture starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch and Mary Badham as Scout. It co-starred Robert Duvall, Brock Peters, William Windom, Alice Ghostley, and was narrated by Kim Stanley. Directed by Robert Mulligan, the film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, and won three, including a Best Actor Oscar for Peck, and a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Horton Foote.

Harper Lee

University of Notre Dame President The Rev. John Jenkins (left), author Harper Lee (center), and Notre Dame board of trustees president Patrick McCartan look out at the graduates of the class of 2006 as they hold up copies of Harper Lee's book, "To Kill a Mockingbird," during commencement ceremonies at the Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind., May 21, 2006, when Notre Dame awarded Lee an honorary degree.

When the Library of Congress did a survey in 1991 on books that have affected people's lives, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was mentioned second only to the Bible.

Harper Lee

Harper Lee reacts to a vocal performance by Birmingham public school students at the State Board of Education meeting on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007, in Montgomery, Ala., when Lee received a resolution commending her contribution to public education in the state.

For decades Lee kept her life private back home in Monroeville, declining interview requests, and only publishing an occasional essay or book review.

Presidential Medal of Freedom

Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, C-SPAN President and Chief Executive Officer Brian Lamb (left) and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (right) applaud fellow recipient, author Harper Lee, as she is introduced by President George W. Bush, during a Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony, Nov. 5, 2007, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

Presidential Medal of Freedom

President George W. Bush presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to author Harper Lee, Monday, Nov. 5, 2007, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

Presidential Medal of Freedom

President George W. Bush smiles after presenting author Harper Lee with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Nov. 5, 2007.

"Go Set a Watchman"

In 2015 the world was stunned to learn that a long-lost manuscript of Lee's, written before "Mockingbird," had been found in a bank vault and was to be published.

Originally submitted in 1957, "Go Set a Watchman" features many of the same characters as "Mockingbird" but is set 20 years later, and presents versions of Scout and Atticus that challenge our current conceptions of them. (Lee's editor, Tay Hohoff, had recommended she focus her story on the woman's childhood.) The suggestion that Atticus would express bigoted views upset many, and prompted mixed reviews, but readers did not mind: "Go Set a Watchman" sold 1.6 million hardcover copies.

Pictured: Copies of "Go Set a Watchman" are seen on display at a bookstore in Seoul, South Korea.

"Go Set a Watchman"

A sign welcomes book fans to Monroeville, Ala., the hometown of "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee, on July 8, 2015, days before the release of Lee's second book, "Go Set a Watchman."

"Go Set a Watchman"

Jane MacAdam (far left) and Ginny Bordeaux emboss copies of "Go Set a Watchman" in Ol' Curiosities & Book Shoppe on the book's release date in Monroeville, Ala. - the hometown of "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee - on Tuesday, July 14, 2015.

Atticus Finch

Atticus Finch impersonator Eric Richardson looks down from the balcony during the afternoon marathon reading of "Go Set A Watchman" in the old Monroe County Courthouse on the afternoon of the book's release in the hometown of "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee, in Monroeville, Ala., Tuesday, July 14, 2015.

Harper Lee

"The world knows Harper Lee was a brilliant writer but what many don't know is that she was an extraordinary woman of great joyfulness, humility and kindness," said Michael Morrison, head of HarperCollins U.S. general books group, in the statement, after news of her death on Feb. 19, 2016 at age 89.

"She lived her life the way she wanted to - in private - surrounded by books and the people who loved her."

For more: Harper Lee, author of "To Kill a Mockingbird," dead at 89

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan; The Associated Press contributed to this report.