To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, is Harper Lee's novel of childhood and racial injustice in the American South. Scout Finch recalls growing up in Maycomb, Alabama, during the 1930s, as her father Atticus undertakes the defence of Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of a crime. Alongside the trial, the children's fascination with their secluded neighbour Boo Radley gradually changes into a different kind of understanding. The two strands place public prejudice beside the more intimate errors of fear and rumour. Through Scout's developing perception, the novel considers moral courage, fairness, and the difficulty of extending sympathy beyond familiar assumptions.