Copies of Harper Lee's book "Go Set a Watchman" are displayed on a table inside of a Barnes & Noble store in New York, July 14, 2015.LUCAS JACKSON/Reuters
Sales of Harper Lee's "Go Set a Watchman" have sold more than 1.1 million copies since the book went on sale in the U.S. and Canada on July 14, HarperCollins Publishers said.
The company, part of News Corp., said the novel is the fastest-selling book in its history with 3.3 million copies now in print, according to a statement Monday.
"Go Set a Watchman," written before Lee's famous civil rights-era novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," should boost earnings at News Corp.'s publishing division, Barry Lucas, an analyst at Gabelli & Co. in Rye, New York, said in an e-mail.
"The impact will be visible in financial results," Lucas said. Assuming that at least 2 million copies of the book are sold and it drives sales of "To Kill A Mockingbird," that will "be noticeable," he said.
The book revisits Lee's characters from "Mockingbird," Scout and her father Atticus, later on in life. It features a surprising plot twist – Atticus, a white lawyer who battled racial inequality in "Mockingbird," is now an aging bigot who attends a Ku Klux Klan meeting.
"Upon release, 'Go Set a Watchman' immediately jumped to No. 1 on every major book retailer's bestseller list," HarperCollins said. The book's popularity is also helping the publisher sell "Mockingbird," the second-most bought book on Amazon.com Inc.'s list on Monday, one spot behind "Watchman."
The 1.1 million copies sold so far include print, e-book and audio formats, HarperCollins said.
News Corp. rose 0.3 per cent to $14.85 at 1:58 p.m. in New York. The shares had dropped 5.6 per cent through Friday.