Classic tale of heroism still endures

An instant hit upon its release in 1960, Harper Lee's only novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, remains well-loved and well-read as it approaches the 50th anniversary of its publication next month. Set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, the story takes place during the height of racial segregation and inequality between white and black Americans. Lee's magnum opus has also been praised for its warmth and humour, despite dealing with serious issues.

The narrator of Mockingbird, which takes place during three years of the Great Depression, is the six-year-old tomboy, Scout Finch. Living at home with her older brother, Jem, and widowed father, Atticus, Scout befriends Dill, the nephew of one of their neighbours, who visits the sleepy town of Maycomb every summer. Year after year, the friendship between the Atticus children and Dill grows. During their summers together, as a way of passing time, the children entertain themselves with stories about a local man who lives the life of a recluse.

Terrified and fascinated in equal measures by their ghost-like neighbour, Boo Radley, the children spend several years trying to work out how to coax the elusive Boo from his hideout. Two years into the story, the children soon realise that someone is leaving small gifts for them in the nook of a tree right outside the Bradley house. But before they can investigate further, their attentions are turned to a court case involving Scout and Jem's father.

Witnessing the evil that is prevalent within her community Scout slowly makes the transition from carefree child to someone who has seen the worst in her fellow human beings. Forming the backbone of the book, the court case and subsequent tragic outcome mirror similar events that took place in Lee's early life. But while scholars are still unable to determine exactly on whom Lee based the character of the wrongly-accused defendant on, there are several ideas as to who or what helped influence the novel.

During her childhood years, Lee's father, Amasa Coleman Lee, tried and failed to defend two black men accused of rape and murder in 1919. Their execution marked the last time Amasa would ever handle a criminal case and the outcome was believed to have made him more liberal in his later years. One childhood influence who can most definitely be seen in the book is Lee's childhood friend Truman Capote. The author of Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood was used as a model for the character of Dill. Just like Dill, Capote would visit relatives in Alabama, where Lee grew up, during the summer while his mother holidayed in New York City.

Capote and his next door neighbour, Lee, became inseparable due to their shared love of reading. Their friendship would continue until Capote's death in 1984. In the novel, Atticus Finch, a middle-aged lawyer, is appointed by the court to defend a black man - Tom Robinson - who is accused of assaulting a local white girl. Described by one critic as "the most enduring fictional image of racial heroism", Atticus Finch was most famously portrayed by Gregory Peck in the 1962 film based on the book.

Also starring Mary Bedham as Scout, and Robert Duvall in his screen debut as Boo Radley, the film went on to enjoy huge success. Named by the American Film Institute as the greatest movie hero of the 20th century, Peck's devastating turn as the morally-sound lawyer, Finch, won him his only Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role. And although several scenes and characters from the book were altered or omitted, Lee was reported to have fully approved of the handling of the movie version.

Loved the world over, To Kill a Mockingbird has sold more than 30 million copies since it was first published, as well as having been translated into more than 40 different languages. But despite the colossal reception given to the book, it remains Lee's only completed novel to date. Retiring from the public eye a few short years after the book was published, Lee has continued to live as a recluse.

Yet, almost half a century after laying down her pen apparently for good, Lee can be sure that To Kill a Mockingbird, with its strong message of human faith and kindness in the face of adversity, remains a classic work of literature.