Renowned author Harper Lee’s second novel Go Set a Watchman , is all set to hit the market on July 14, almost 55 years after the successful launch of To Kill a Mockingbird .
Earlier in February, the literary world was astonished when Harper Lee announced the publication of the book only a few people knew existed.
On Thursday, Amazon informed that the much-anticipated second novel is currently the most pre-ordered print title on Amazon.com since the last book in the “Harry Potter” series and is already the No.1 best-selling book on the website.
Amazon did not provide figures for the book but publisher Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins, said it had ordered an initial US print run of 2 million for Go Set a Watchman .
The manuscript came to light recently after Lee’s lawyer discovered it in a safety deposit box with the original manuscript of To Kill a Mockingbird .
It was written in the 1950s before Lee, now 89 and in an assisted-living facility in her home state of Alabama, penned her 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece. She then largely retired from public life.
Watchman features lawyer Atticus Finch 20 years after the events depicted in Mockingbird as his adult daughter Scout returns to visit him in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama.
Published in 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird , which became an instant best-seller and has sold an estimated 40 million copies worldwide was about racism and injustice in the American South. It was also made into an Oscar-winning film starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.
Lee’s home town of Monroeville, Alabama, is marking Tuesday’s publication by recreating a 1950s feel and organizing walking tours of the town that inspired the two novels. US bookstores are holding readings and some of which will be opening at midnight .
Lee, who suffered a stroke in 2007 and is reported to have difficulty seeing and hearing, is not expected to appear to promote the book.