Larry Downing/Reuters
The first chapter of Harper Lee’s highly anticipated new book was released online at midnight Friday. Go Set a Watchman was published 55 years after the release of To Kill a Mockingbird, despite Lee vowing to never write a sequel to the literary classic. The novel was written before Mockingbird, but features the beloved character Scout as an adult, returning to home to Maycomb, Alabama, two decades later, to visit other characters, including her father, Atticus Finch. The lost novel stirred controversy, with critics arguing the 88-year-old’s mental state was too fragile for her to have been cognizant in consenting to the book’s release. Lee, who suffers hearing and vision problems, resides in an assisted-living facility. The book is set to be released July 14. Reese Witherspoon also narrates the first pages, which are available here.