For more than half a century, To Kill a Mockingbird has been an American classic which continuously seems to provoke discussions on social and racial injustices of the South in the 1930s. The book brought instant fame to its author, Harper Lee. Because of the overwhelming attention the book brought her, Ms. Lee quickly moved back to her Monroeville, Alabama home.

In late summer 2014, Tonja Carter, who was doing some legal work for Harper Lee, found a long lost manuscript that at first she assumed was just another copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. As she thumbed through the pages, Carter noticed how all the characters were the same but there were two problems. They were all written from an older perspective and the book was titled Go Set a Watchman.

Harper Lee allegedly completed the book in the mid-1950s, but it was thought lost until just of late, spurring an unexpected release. Ms. Lee has always said she would never publish another book, which has devastated readers since the phenomenon of To Kill a Mockingbird began. This is why reports of a new publication shocked everyone who got wave of the news.

When asked about Harper Lee’s reaction to the discovery of her forgotten book, Andrew Nurnburg, her literary agent, responded by saying, “She was genuinely surprised at the discovery of the manuscript but delighted by the suggestion to publish what she considers to be the ‘parent’ to Mockingbird. I met with her last autumn and again over two days in January; she was in great spirits and increasingly excited at the prospect of this novel finally seeing the light of day.” But, some people have some speculation over this comment.

According to local townspeople and neighbors of Lee, it is common knowledge that Lee is now blind, deaf, and in declining health. So, this gives the public a reason to speculate Harper Lee’s actual involvement with the decision of the publication of her book. Many believe she really had no say in the decision to publish her work and because of her waning health, publishers took advantage of the miraculous find and are deciding to publish it without her consent.

But, these are all just theories. We don’t know the real situation because Harper Lee refuses all interviews requested. But, if the course of action continues as planned, Ms. Lee’s latest novel will be released in July, 2015.