Robert Harris Books

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Robert Harris is a former journalist that writes historical fiction. Harris was born in 1957 in Nottingham, England. A former student at Belvoir High School (Bottesford) and King Edward VII School (Melton Mowbray), the author’s father worked at a local printing plant.

The frequent visits he made to the printing plant sparked Harris’ interest in books. He eventually enrolled at Selwyn College, Cambridge where he studied English literature. He got an early taste of the field of journalism when he joined ‘Varsity’, the college’s oldest student newspaper.

Many people know Harris for the work he did with the BBC, lending his talents to programs like ‘Panorama’. Even though he spent so many years working as a journalist, it was just preparation for the novels he would write in the future. As far as he is concerned, he was always a novelist masquerading as a journalist rather than a journalist that also wrote novels.

He entered the publishing arena when he wrote ‘A Higher Form of Killing’. It was his first book, published in 1982. He continued to write non-fiction books inspired by his interest in history and politics until 1992 when ‘Fatherland’, his first novel was published.

The novel was a massive success. It sold over 3 million copies. The success of the novel compelled Harris to become a full-time novelist. It was around this time that he bought his house in the country.

In the years that followed, the author gained a reputation for telling hard-hitting stories set within historical periods. He received some criticism for maintaining a close friendship with Roman Polanski, a disgraced film director. But the criticisms did little to taint his reputation among his peers and fans.

Readers love Harris’ work because his novels are so different from one another. The author doesn’t have any specific sources of inspiration. Ideas just come to him. Though, on occasion, the stories he reads in books, newspapers, and magazines will influence his creative process.

Before he can write a book, Harris needs a character to pique his interest. Once he has a character, he can start thinking about some of the fascinating events they could encounter within the confines of a story. This creates a foundation for Harris to build a novel.

The author believes that storytelling starts within the subconscious, and creative individuals require downtime to stimulate the subconscious. They have to visit new places, talk to friends, go to the movies, and so on and so forth.

Robert Harris Awards

Harris won the Walter Scott Prize in 2014. He has received Barry Award and Sainsbury’s Popular Fiction Award nominations.

Robert Harris Books Into Movies

‘The Ghost’ became a political thriller called ‘The Ghost Writer’ in 2010. It starred Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor. HBO turned ‘Fatherland’ into a tv movie of the same name in 1994.

‘Enigma’, a 2001 thriller starring Kate Winslet and Dougray Scott, was based on the novel ‘Enigma’. ‘Archangel’ became a BBC TV show starring Daniel Craig.

Best Robert Harris Books

The author is married to Gill Hornby, a writer. Gill’s brother is Nick Hornby, a successful writer. Harris’ best books include:

Fatherland: Xavier March was living in Berlin two decades after Germany won the Second World War. While the rest of the country prepared for President Kennedy’s imminent visit, Xavier was busy investigating a dead man whose body was discovered on a lakeshore.

When the victim was revealed to be a high-ranking Nazi official, the Gestapo stepped in. They wanted Xavier to stay away from the case. However, the detective knew that a conspiracy was afoot and he was determined to unravel it. But he would need the help of a beautiful American journalist.

Pompeii: Attilius, an incorruptible engineer, was puzzled. He was in charge of Aqua Augusta, an aqueduct that brought water to nine towns. With the Springs failing for the first time in a long time, he couldn’t ignore the fault that had been discovered on Aqua Augusta’s mainline.

If he couldn’t fix Augusta, the reservoir would run dry. But the repairs were easier said than done. To do his work, Attilius had to travel to Pompeii, a town on the cusp of disaster. Powerful forces were working to destroy the engineer, completely oblivious to the impending cataclysm.

When Does The Next Robert Harris book come out?

Robert Harris doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Precipice and was released on September, 17th 2024.

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