a town in West Virginia, where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet, that was the place of many battles during the American Civil War. Just before the war, an abolitionist (=someone who wants to stop slavery) called John Brown took control of the government weapons that were kept there and tried to get slaves to fight against their owners. He was caught and hanged for treason (=actions against your country)
Monthly magazine published in New York, N.Y., U.S., one of the oldest and most prestigious literary and opinion journals in the U.S. Founded in 1850 as Harper's New Monthly Magazine by the printing and publishing firm of the Harper brothers, it was a leader in publishing works by illustrious British and U.S. authors. By 1865 it had become the most successful periodical in the U.S. In the 1920s its format changed to that of a forum on public affairs, balanced with short stories. Financial problems began in the 1960s, and in 1980 its demise was averted by grants from a philanthropic organization, the MacArthur Foundation. Since 1976 it has been edited almost continuously by Lewis Lapham (b. 1935)
born April 28, 1926, Monroeville, Ala., U.S. U.S. novelist. The daughter of a lawyer, Lee attended the University of Alabama but left for New York City before obtaining a law degree. An editor helped her transform a series of short stories into the novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). Lee's only novel, it was nationally acclaimed, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1961, and was adapted into a memorable film in 1962. The novel's hero is the white lawyer Atticus Finch, whose just and compassionate acts include an unpopular defense of a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl. The book continued to resonate into the 21st century
U.S. printers and publishers. The two oldest brothers, James (1795-1869) and John (1797-1875) established J. & J. Harper in 1817; their siblings Joseph (1801-70) and Fletcher (1806-77) joined in 1823 and 1825. The firm took the name Harper & Brothers in 1833. The company began publishing periodicals in 1850 with Harper's New Monthly Magazine (see Harper's Magazine), which was followed by Harper's Weekly (1857) and Harper's Bazaar (1867). In 1900 the business passed out of family hands. Two of the Harper magazines are still being published; the name Harper also survives in the international book-publishing firm HarperCollins