“My Beloved Hal”: Harper Lee's Best Kept Secret

Abstract

Writer’s dating life is an important part of his literary work. It either inspires the author to literary feats, or makes him unable to work successfully. The love life of the 1961 Pulitzer Prize winner Nelle Harper Lee has always been a subject of interest for her biographers, since information about it was carefully hidden. Ms. Lee did not give interviews, did not speak publicly, and answered “Hell, no,” for all requests to help create an authorized biography of her. In March 2018, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, & Rare Book Library (Atlanta, USA) bought six unique letters by Harper Lee. They were written in the period from 1956 to 1961 and addressed to Harold Gray Caufield, a New York architect, whose biography has not yet attracted the attention of researchers. The author of the article, having read Harper Lee's letters thoughtfully, made his own investigation to uncover littleknown details about Harold Caufield’s personality. What kind of relationship did Nelle and Harold really have? The article reproduces photos of the probable lover of Harper Lee for the first time.

Keywords

• nelle harper lee
• to kill a mockingbird
• american literary history
• biographic studies
• correspondence
• harold gray caufield
• michael brown
• paul kennerson collection
• archival materials