University of Tennessee professor Michael Lofaro maintains that the novel as published 1957 was not the version intended for print by the author. Lofaro discussed his work at a conference that was part of the Knoxville James Agee Celebration (April 2005). Having tracked down the author's original manuscripts and notes, Lofaro reconstructed a version he considers more authentic. This version, entitled A Death in the Family: A Restoration of the Author's Text, was published in 2007 as part of the 10-volume set The Collected Works of James Agee (University of Tennessee Press). Lofaro is also the author of Agee Agonistes: Essays on the Life, Legend, and Works of James Agee (2007).
According to Lofaro, McDowell's alterations include:
- The removal of the original opening, a nightmare scene, and its substitution with "Knoxville: Summer of 1915," a previously published short work of Agee's that was not intended as part of the novel.
- A reordering of the presentation of events, which were originally shown in chronological order.
- Chapters were removed.
- Chapters were divided.
- Certain chapters were moved and presented as flashbacks.
- The number of chapters was changed from forty-four short chapters to twenty.
