Twelve years after the publication of Harper Lee’s long lost, Go Set a Watchman, a third book by the late author will be released this summer.
The manuscript of Spilt Then the Julep had been in the possession of Mobile, Alabama gas station attendant Trace Filbin since August of 1971. He claims that Lee left it as collateral when she was short $3.17 on a fill-up and oil change, then never returned to pay up and get it back. After waiting 50 years – which he claims he thought he was required by law to do – Filbin sold it to New York publisher Sontag-Millins for the $3.17 he was owed, plus $400.
Sources who’ve seen the proofs say that while the original book about the Finch family, To Kill a Mockingbird, is set in the 1930s and Watchman starts in the 50s, Julep takes place over the course of four months, beginning the day in 1962 when Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best as drummer for The Beatles – though this is referenced only once, in passing, by Finch housekeeper Calpurnia Coleman.
Some other highlights, according to the sources:
- Jean Louise “Scout” Finch has grown more sophisticated and has taken to eating oysters. She also has a pet terrier named Leo, who she claims is clairvoyant, though the dog shows no sign of this other than whimpering whenever a door opens.
- Her father, Atticus Finch, has retired from the law and focuses all his energy on watching TV reruns of “The Honeymooners.” He talks of little else but the Kramdens and Nortons.
- Former prosecuting attorney Horace Gilmer is finally named Town Drunk, after having unofficially served in the capacity for over 20 years,
- Walter Cunningham, the impoverished boy who poured maple syrup over his meat and vegetables in Mockingbird, is now a successful accountant. When dining with the Finches in Julep, he does the same thing again. This time, instead of asking, “What in Sam Hill are you doing?” Scout excuses herself from the table and moves to Memphis for three months.
- The character based on writer Truman Capote, Dill Harris, returns from Italy and shows up at various social functions making offensive remarks, like, “Is that your nose or are you eating a potato?” Some of the townspeople discuss riding him out of town on a rail, but owing to the cost of rails they opt to flatten his tires instead.
- Boo Radley, the phantom neighbor who saved Scout and her brother Jem from the drunken Bob Ewell has gotten over his shy ways and opened up a nightclub. His romance with sultry singer Gwendoline Williams is well known, but rarely talked about.
Publication has been tentatively scheduled for July 15.
