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Harper Lee's new cover revealed: 'Go Set a Watchman' captures feel of 'Mockingbird'

The release of Harper Lee's second novel, "Go Set a Watchman," is still four months away. But the publisher has now released the cover image.
/ Source: TODAY

The release of Harper Lee's highly anticipated second novel, "Go Set a Watchman," is still four months away. But publisher HarperCollins has released an early treat for those eager for a peek at what's to come: the new book jacket.

HarperCollins

If the cover feels familiar, it should. "Go Set a Watchman" shares the same striking style of the original cover for Lee's enduring classic, "To Kill a Mockingbird." In addition to featuring the same lettering and font as "Mockingbird," "Watchman" also bears a knothole tree, though the addition of an oncoming train and a cooler palette signal a new direction.

HarperCollins

People.com first shared the new cover Wednesday morning and spoke with HarperCollins president Michael Morrison about the look.

"It draws on the style of the decade the book was written," he said, adding that the story offered so many quality elements that "it was hard to pick just one iconic image to represent the book."

Image: FILE: Harper Lee to Publish Second Book Bush Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom
Harper Lee will publish her second novel, "Go Set a Watchman," more than 50 years after the Pulitzer Prize-winning "To Kill a Mockingbird."Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

As for "the decade the book was written," that would be the 1950s. While "Go Set a Watchman" is effectively a sequel to "To Kill a Mockingbird," Lee actually penned it before her 1960 seminal work.

"Go Set a Watchman" is set to hit bookstores July 14.

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