The Devil And Harper Lee by Mark Seal

Author: Mark Seal 

Title: The Devil And Harper Lee

Publisher: Scribed

Published: 2019

Pages: 119

Genre: True Crime 

     Far away in New York City, one of America’s most beloved writers was about to get caught up in the strange and violent tale of Reverend Willie J. Maxwell. Harper Lee, author of the modern-day classic To Kill a Mockingbird, was searching for her next book when the perfect story came her way: There was a man, the Reverend, who had allegedly murdered five of his family members and managed to do it without getting caught. Thanks to the skills of his talented lawyer, he collected sizeable amounts of money from insurance policies that named him as the beneficiary. It was said the Reverend used voodoo to commit the murders and that his magical powers made him untouchable. And then, at the funeral of his most recent alleged victim—his sixteen-year-old stepdaughter—someone pointed a pistol at Reverend Maxwell’s head and shot three times. Mesmerized by the string of bloody deaths, Harper Lee returned to her native Alabama. 

     I think it is safe to safe that everyone is well aware of Harper Lee and her famous book. For the moment it is taught up and down the land and revered as one of the greatest books ever written.  Although I should point out that I have never in fact actually read it only ever having seen the film. I do have every intention of doing so it's just not quite got there yet. Anyway, I'm getting distracted again the point I'm trying to make is that people are also aware that in her lifetime she only ever put out this one book. Which kinda seems strange given that it is classed as a masterpiece. One might be forgiven for thinking that after that she would have cashed in and produced a whole series of books. but that was never to be so for me I was curious as to why. What happened that just made her stop as it would seem. I'm also a sucker for a true-crime novel so getting two mysteries for the price of one seemed like a double win to me. 

     Seal clearly set out on a mission when writing this book, to solve the mystery of a woman who seemed to have been a very private and self-contained individual in life.  Throughout the course of this book, my understanding of her most certainly grew beyond the scant detail that had been floating about in my brain. But this is by no means an in-depth look into her life. At a hundred and nineteen pages what we get is a snapshot dealing with a very specific event that took place. And I can see why this trial appealed to Lee. It has all the scandal and drama one might hope for from a great tv soap or the latest thriller. She was also someone who took extensive notes on everything she thought might be relevant to future endeavors. I can only imagine that there must have been stacks of it upon her death. This also begs the question as to what happened to it all. Sadly one that was not answered within this book. But what it does mean is that whilst this case may not be so well known there is documentation available for Seal to give us a fairly good idea of what took place on that fateful day.   

     For such a short book I did find it very entering, the author has managed to cram a great deal in and I flew through it in no time at all. I suppose it was inevitable that more time would be given over to the crime for which she returned to her home town. And it's interesting to see why she thought this might be her next big work all be it turned into fiction. At its heart, I think it still has some of the ugly fundamentals of the human experience to it. Greed and suffering, a need for revenge and to somehow set the scales level again in a world that can defiantly be brutal at times. It seems to me that had she gone forward with the writing of this novel that it would no doubt have been another best seller. But maybe the point is she could never in her own head come up with something as grand as To Kill A Mockingbird again. I would assume when your very first book is being heralded as a classic in your own lifetime the worry is you will never do anything to top it.

     In the short time, I spent with this book I felt I not only learnt some things about Lee but also learned about a crime that I suspect for many hasn't even registered on their radar. Victims who are forgotten to history. For me as a true-crime work, I think it's definitely worth picking up a copy. If on the other hand, you are looking for a bit more of a deep dive into Harper Lee you may find yourself left a little disappointed.