Harper Lee may have written a third novel

New York: Excitement soared with the publication on Tuesday of Harper Lee's eagerly awaited, but controversial second novel as her lawyer hinted the reclusive 89-year-old may have written a third book. The global release of "Go Set a Watchman" is one of the biggest literary events in years. Thanks to pre-orders, it has been the number one best-seller at online retailer Amazon for months, and publisher HarperCollins has ordered a first print run of two million copies.

Lee's only previous novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird," is considered a 20th century masterpiece that defined racial injustice in the Depression-era South and became standard reading in classrooms.

Published in 1960, it was translated into more than 40 languages and adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Gregory Peck.

In Lee's home town of Monroeville in Alabama, where she lives in strict privacy at a nursing home, the small community's only secular bookstore is celebrating with a launch party at midnight.

The Ol' Curiosities and Book Shoppe is offering special editions with embossed title pages to customers who pre-order and promises a Peck impersonator will amuse revellers. Copies of US author Harper Lee's new book "Go Set a Watchman" are on display at a book shop in central London on 14 July. AFPCopies of US author Harper Lee's new book "Go Set a Watchman" are on display at a book shop in central London on 14 July.

The shop says it has sold 7,000 pre-ordered copies -- more than the town's estimated population of 6,300. About half of those orders will be shipped around the United States and overseas, it says.

In New York, where Lee used to live, Barnes and Noble is to open its flagship Fifth Avenue branch at 7am (1100 GMT) to accommodate sales. On Monday, an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal by Lee's lawyer sought to quell some of the controversy about how "Watchman" was discovered -- after lying hidden for more than half a century -- and hinted that there may also be a third novel.

Tonja Carter said experts "directed by Lee" would be authenticating all documents in her safe-deposit box at a bank in Monroeville, including unidentified pages that she found last week. "Was it an earlier draft of 'Watchman' or of 'Mockingbird' or even as early correspondence indicates it might be, a third book bridging the two?" she wrote in the Journal.

Mary McDonagh Murphy, a writer and producer, met Lee when she filmed the author being presented British and US editions of her new novel by publishers at a Monroeville restaurant on June 30.

"I observed Ms Lee saying 'thank you', and I saw the publishers say '58 years in the making, here it is at last,'" Murphy told AFP. She said she briefly communicated with the novelist by writing down and holding up notes. But despite being in a wheelchair and being "extremely hard of hearing" with poor eyesight, Lee seemed of firm mind. "Don't be silly, of course I did," Murphy quoted her as saying when asked if she ever thought she would see "Watchman" published.

The biggest bombshell for die-hard fans has been that Scout's adored father Atticus expresses racist views, a seeming fall from grace for one of America's most loved literary heros. Controversy has refused to die over whether Lee, who shuns the media and suffered a stroke, was manipulated into publishing a book that she first wrote in the late 1950s. Her then editor suggested she recast the manuscript from the childhood perspective of Scout, which in turn became "Mockingbird."

Murphy counselled people to read the whole book before passing judgement and highlighted its value as an historical document. "I think what's fascinating about this book is that you get to read where 'To Kill a Mockingbird' came from, it allows you to understand what was in Harper Lee's mind," she told AFP. HarperCollins says "Watchman" has been published exactly as it was written, "without editorial intervention," at Lee's behest.

The book is a coming-of-age story that explores "racism and changing attitudes in the South during the 1950s in a bold and unflinching way," it said in a statement. "By confronting these challenging and complex issues at the height of the Civil Rights movement, the young Harper Lee demonstrated an honesty and bravery that makes this work both a powerful document of its time and a compelling piece of literature."