‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author Harper Lee dies aged 89

A statement from the family confirmed she had died in her sleep on Friday morning.

It said: “Her passing was unexpected. She remained in good basic health until her passing. The family is in mourning and there will be a private funeral service in the upcoming days, as she had requested. Ms Lee was 89.”

Her oldest nephew and the family spokesman, Hank Conner, said: “This is a sad day for our family. America and the world knew Harper Lee as one of the last century’s most beloved authors. We knew her as Nelle Harper Lee, a loving member of our family, a devoted friend to the many good people who touched her life, and a generous soul in our community and our state. We will miss her dearly.”

Lee was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 for To Kill A Mockingbird and it remained her only book until 2015.

Set in the Deep South in America during the 1930s, it details the life of tomboy Scout, real name Jean Louise Finch, and the events that unfold when her father, Atticus Finch, a Maycomb lawyer, is assigned to defend a black man on a rape charge.

Born Nelle Harper Lee in 1926, she grew up in Monroeville, Alabama and was the youngest of four children.

Her father, Amasa Coleman Lee, was a lawyer and it is reported that her character of Atticus Finch was loosely based on him.

To Kill A Mockingbird went on to become a classic and Lee was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Lee was fiercely private and following the success of her book she rarely granted interviews.

Last year she released a statement announcing she would be publishing a follow-up for To Kill A Mockingbird, titled Go Set A Watchman.

The book featured her beloved Mockingbird characters, with the main protagonist, Jean Louise Finch, now an adult.

The book sold more than 105,000 copies on its first day.

Lee suffered a stroke in 2007 and with the release of her book last year, concerns were raised about the extent of her involvement in the project.

At the time, her agent was forced to respond to reports suggesting the 88-year-old was being taken advantage of over the publication of the book.

Authorities in her native Alabama closed their investigation into the issue, saying the reclusive writer had “made it quite clear” she wanted the book published.

Fellow authors and figures from the world of entertainment paid tribute to the star on Twitter.

Technology company Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, remembered her, writing “Rest in peace, Harper Lee” and quoting her: “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”