later determined to be an outgrowth of dyslexia. An editor at Harper & Row approached her about expanding the story into a full-length novel. "I just burst into tears and said, 'I can't write a novel,'" she told The New York Times in 1994. "'I can't spell. I can't diagram a sentence.' He took my hand and said the most wonderful thing I've ever heard. He said, 'Oh, honey, what do you think editors are for?'" The book stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for 10 weeks. 1981 American novels American historical novels Novels set in Mississippi Fictional diaries Fiction set in the 1950s