( CNN ) Fifty-five years after `` To Kill a Mockingbird , '' Harper Lee is publishing a second book , her publisher said Tuesday . `` Go Set a Watchman , '' which Lee completed in the 1950s and then set aside in favor of `` Mockingbird , '' will be published July 14 . It follows Scout , the little girl of `` Mockingbird , '' as an adult . The manuscript was rediscovered last year , Lee , 88 , said in a statement from her publisher , Harper . `` In the mid-1950s , I completed a novel called 'Go Set a Watchman , ' `` she said . `` It features the character known as Scout as an adult woman , and I thought it a pretty decent effort . My editor , who was taken by the flashbacks to Scout 's childhood , persuaded me to write a novel ( what became 'To Kill a Mockingbird ' ) from the point of view of the young Scout . `` I was a first-time writer , so I did as I was told . I had n't realized it ( the original book ) had survived , so was surprised and delighted when my dear friend and lawyer Tonja Carter discovered it . After much thought and hesitation , I shared it with a handful of people I trust and was pleased to hear that they considered it worthy of publication . I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years . '' `` Watchman '' is set in the 1950s and is about Scout -- Jean Louise Finch -- returning to her hometown of Maycomb , Alabama ( a fictional version of Lee 's hometown of Monroeville ) , to see her father , the upright lawyer Atticus Finch . `` She is forced to grapple with issues both personal and political as she tries to understand her father 's attitude toward society , and her own feelings about the place where she was born and spent her childhood , '' the press release said . `` To Kill a Mockingbird , '' which Lee wrote after she moved to New York , made her name . The book , published in 1960 , won the Pulitzer Prize and was made into a beloved 1962 film . Gregory Peck won the Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of Atticus Finch . It 's a mainstay of high school reading lists and , as of 2006 , had sold more than 30 million copies . Lee , who returned to Monroeville several years ago , remembers being caught off-guard by its overwhelming success . `` I ca n't say that ( my reaction ) was one of surprise . It was one of sheer numbness . It was like being hit over the head and knocked cold , '' she said in 1964 . Until now , it had been her only published novel . Jonathan Burnham , Harper 's senior vice president and publisher , called `` Go Set a Watchman '' `` a remarkable literary event . '' `` The existence of 'Go Set a Watchman ' was unknown until recently , and its discovery is an extraordinary gift to the many readers and fans of 'To Kill a Mockingbird , ' `` he said in the statement . `` Reading in many ways like a sequel to Harper Lee 's classic novel , it is a compelling and ultimately moving narrative about a father and a daughter 's relationship , and the life of a small Alabama town living through the racial tensions of the 1950s . '' Sandy Smith at Monroeville 's chamber of commerce said news of the book was `` great news . '' `` Our main street director told me and she had heard it from the book store . It 's definitely great news , '' she told CNN . `` Everyone has always speculated about a second book . Everyone who read ( 'Mockingbird ' ) has said , 'Oh I wish she had written another book . ' It 's good for Monroeville . Her book brings people here every day . '' However , Smith honored Lee 's desire to maintain a low profile . The author has been a quiet presence for years . `` Oh , I do n't talk about Ms. Lee , '' Smith said when asked if she ever sees Lee around town . `` Our policy is not to comment on Ms. Lee personally . '' CNN 's Dave Alsup contributed to this story .
Harper Lee 's new book is ` ` Go See a Watchman '' The book will be her first since 1960 's ` ` To Kill a Mockingbird ''