Prior to publishing To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee penned Go Set A Watchman in 1957 which included the same characters; this novel was not, however, accepted for publication at the time. Lee's editor asked her to re-write it with the focus on Scout as a child, two years later it was released as To Kill A Mockingbird.
In 2015 Go Set A Watchman was published for the first time after being discovered in a safe deposit box by Harper Lee's lawyer. Controversy surrounded the publication with some arguing it wasn't 88 year old Lee's decision.
Adding to the controversy was the portrayal of Atticus Finch as a racist bigot with links to the Ku Klux Klan in contrast to his clear moral conscience in To Kill A Mockingbird.
References:
Biography.com 2017, Harper Lee Mini-Biography, A&E Television Networks, LLC, viewed 20 June 2017, <https://www.biography.com/people/harper-lee-9377021>.