Harper Lee is rediscovered in “Hey, Boo.”

Harper Lee, the shy and reclusive author of the classic “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is rediscovered in Mary McDonagh Murphy’s new film “Hey, Boo.”

Harper Lee, who released the novel in 1960, never dreamed that it would be met with such success. In fact, as PRI reports, in a 1964 interview she said, “I never expected that the book would sell in the first place. I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of the reviewers, but I was hoping that maybe somebody might like it well enough to give me some encouragement about it.” It is perhaps because of this unexpected success and overwhelming response that Lee, 85, has not released another novel or given an interview since 1964.

Now, in her documentary “Hey, Boo,” Mary McDonagh Murphy examines the significance of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel and its Presidential Medal of Freedom winning author.

In the documentary, Murphy interviews Harper Lee’s friend Joy Brown, Oprah Winfrey and Tom Brokaw. And, the classic 1961 screen adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird” starring Gregory Peck is also discussed.

Regarding the novel and Lee, Murphy says, “It was huge. People evangelized about this book, and it very quickly hit the bestseller list and stayed there. I mean, before Oprah Winfrey, there were book of the month clubs, and “To Kill a Mockingbird” got chosen for all of them. So it really took off. The Pulitzer Prize followed. And then one year after that, comes this magnificent screen adaptation of the novel. So it all happened very quickly.”