Harper Lee, whose 1961 novel To Kill a Mockingbird on the racial troubles of the American deep south, has died at the age of 89.

    Until last year, Lee had been something of a one-book literary legend. To kill a Mockingbird sold more than 40 million copies around the world and earned her a Pulitzer prize, remaining a towering presence in American literature. Another novel, Go Set A Watchman, was controversially published in July 2015 as a “sequel” to Mockingbird, though it was later confirmed to be Mockingbird's first draft.

    But from the moment Mockingbird was published to almost instant success, the author consistently avoided public attention. Lee had lived for several years in a nursing home near the house in which she had grown up in Monroeville, Alabama—the setting for Maycomb of her famous book. Her neighbor for 40 years, Sue Sellers, said, “She was such a private person. All she wanted was privacy, but she didn't get much. There was always somebody following her around.”

    James Naughtie, BBC Books Editor, commented on the novels of Harper Lee: “I think she stands, particularly among American readers, as someone who shone a light into a very dark place. She was writing at a time when people were beginning to lift the lid on everything in the South which they'd chosen not to understand. That all changed in the 1960s. So I think her status for writing that book in its extraordinarily direct way will remain.

    In 1978, I was 18 and was working as a nurse in a small town about 270 km away from Sydney, Australia. I was looking forward to having five fays off from duty. Unfortunately, the only one train a day back to my home in Sydney had already left. So I thought I'd hitch a ride (搭便车).

    I waited by the side of the highway for three hours but no one stopped for me. Finally, a man walked over and introduced himself as Gordon. He said that although he couldn't give me a lift, I should come back to his house for lunch. He noticed me standing for hours in the November heat and thought I must be hungry. I was doubtful as a young girl but he assured （使…放心）me I was safe, and he also offered to help me find a lift home afterwards. When we arrived at his house, he made us sandwiches. After lunch, he helped me find a lift home.

    Twenty-five years later, in 2003, while I was driving to a nearby town one day, I saw an elderly man standing in the glaring heat, trying to hitch a ride. I thought it was another chance to repay someone for the kindness I'd been given decades earlier. I pulled over and picked him up. I made him comfortable on the back seat and offered him some water.

    After a few moments of small talk, the man said to me, “You haven't changed a bit, even your red hair is still the same.” I couldn't remember where I'd met him. He then told me he was the man who had given me lunch and helped me find a lift all those years ago. It was Gordon.

    CREATIVE KIDS

    FILM MAKING

    Become a director, scriptwriter(编剧), editor(编辑) and more … all in a week?

    Six half days of film making + six half days of fun activities.

    What's it all about?

Imagine yourself as the new Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott? Love the cinema, but think you could do better? Or do you dream of being the next Keira Knightley or Johnny Depp? If so, then this is your holiday! You and your group will choose the type of film to make — adventure, fantasy, thriller or comedy. Then you'll create your own film to show at the end of the week. What's more, you'll also take your film home on DVD too!

    Can I do other activities as well?

Yes — every day there's also half a day of activities from our great activity programme, and different entertainment every evening. So you can pack in lots of other new experiences too!

    What do I learn?

    You'll learn the basics of film and sound recording, performing, and script-writing; and how to use sound effects, visual effects and music.

    You'll also learn about the work of a director, before editing your own film.

    Do I need any experience?

    No, our fantastic trained instructors and film industry experts will guide you through the whole process, and give you tips from the professionals.

    Do I need any specialist equipment?

    No, we'll provide all the equipment, from top spec digital video cameras and editing equipment, to costumes and make-up. Just bring your imagination!

    Only￡695 per child!

    I ran into quite a few language problems while travelling with my family last summer. The most embarrassing(尴尬的) was when my Mom apologized(道歉) to the people we were staying with because her “pants were dirty”. They looked at her in amazement, not knowing how to react. You see, Mom had fallen over and gotten mud on her jeans. But in Britain, “pants” means underpants or knickers, not trousers as it does back home.

    Katie-From America

    I went to stay with a friend on the west coast last summer. Her flat was on the first floor of a high-rise building so I got the lift up. Then I wandered round for ages looking for her flat but couldn't find it. Fed up and tired, I finally had to go out to find a phone box. She explained that her flat was on the first floor, which for me meant the ground floor.

    David-From Britain

    When I asked for the “restroom” in a big department store, people kept directing me to a room with seats where I could sit and “rest”. It took me years to get through to someone that I only wanted the toilet!

    Tom-From America

    Last summer we went on a two-week family touring holiday, so Dad hired a car over the Internet. This was an old vehicle (汽车) and there turned out to be lots of things wrong with it. When he phoned the hire company and tried to explain that the lock on the boot was broken, they thought he was talking about footwear! He had no idea their word for “boot” was “trunk”. In the end we went to a garage and just solved the problem.

    Mary-From Britain

On that hot August day in 2023, as ash rained down and flames closed in, Jim Rhodes didn't want to be anywhere but Coulterville. "My kid called from Alabama. We first heard ·about the fire from him," Rhodes recalls. "He said, ‘Evacuate（撤离）!'I said, ‘Evacuate? To where?'"

Coulterville is a tiny town located among dry hills where local people raise cattle and other livestock. It has a main street, a park and a museum. It's got a cafe, a grocery shop and a post. And with summer temperatures routinely topping 100 degrees, it has fires—sometimes big fires.

Eventually, this big fire got a name: the Moc Fire, for the tiny town of Moccasin-where it began as a brush fire.

It burnt for 10 days, consuming almost 3,000 acres.

Rhodes woke to find his truck covered in ashand the news was broadcasting evacuation orders. Ranchers（牧场主） across the region were fighting to protect their animals, loading them into the truck or just setting them loose to find safety. Volunteers were readying fairgrounds nearby to shelter animals. Already they were filling up with dogs, cats, chickens, horses, cattle, goats, sheep and rabbits.

As residents and animals were brought out, firefighters poured in. "With them came the biggest bulldozer（挖土机）I've ever seen," says Rhodes. "And they were sent to cut the firebreak that could save the town. We knew that if it made the cut, we'd all have to get out of here."

The situation was clear. The danger was growing. But slowly Rhodes realized that he hadn't come to Coulterville just to leave when the town needed him. He stayed, joining the handful of residents who gathered around the main street where fire officials posted updates. He knew he could help somebody, somehow.

Around midmorning, a farmer he'd never met came by asking for help with animal evacuation. Rhodes's phone was still ringing, but he knew what to do. "I hung up my phone, got in the truck and headed down to his farm," he says.