Harper Lee did not write ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Lee’s book was initially titled ‘Go Set a Watchman,’ And after Truman secretly revised the tale as a favor, the resulting Mockingbird won a Pulitzer. Ironically, that prize always eluded Truman, even after the publication of ‘In Cold Blood,’ a masterpiece attributed to him…but actually penned by someone else—and that someone was Harper Lee! The astonishing role reversal was arranged when the lifelong friends recognized that Truman possessed the sensitivity required to create Mockingbird’s down-to-earth characters. Conversely, the intrepid Ms. Lee’s inherent grit would give ‘In Cold Blood’ its needed fierceness.

‘The Ghostwriters’ is a sweeping literary eye-opener that not only probes the bizarre Capote/Lee relationship, but also shines a light on idiosyncrasies that define homespun Alabama…the scorched Kansas Plains…and New York’s decadent upper crust haunts.