For $1500, Have Your Memory of Atticus Finch Destroyed All Over Again

Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman was the publishing event of the year. The eagerly-anticipated sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird sold more than two million copies in two months, even as it was dragged into controversy about how, when and why Lee had agreed to publish it, and had some bookstores offering a refund to unsatisfied readers because – SPOILER – beloved moral crusader Atticus Finch got old and became a racist. Now HarperCollins, knowing that you can’t really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it — and wanting desperately to climb into the skin of a very wealthy publisher — has decided to issue a signed, limited edition of the novel for $1500.

Only 500 copies of the collectors’ edition have been printed, each numbered and signed by Lee. “The stunning package includes a hardcover bound in leather with debossed gold foil stamping, gold gilded edges, and printed endpapers, and is enclosed in an elegant cloth box lined in velvet with magnet closure,” blurbs the HarperCollins website. The limited edition is expected to sell out quickly, as Lee’s signature is highly collectible. A signed first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird in good condition can fetch up to $20,000.