Biography
An author of legal thrillers, John Grisham has sold over 300 million books worldwide and is famous for his high-stakes, suspense-filled plots full of authentic details. Born in 1955, Grisham was more interested in sports than reading as a child. While in college studying to become a tax lawyer, he moved colleges three times to pursue a career in baseball, only to be repeatedly benched and dropped from teams. He graduated in 1981 from the University of Mississippi School of Law and returned to his hometown to work as a trial lawyer (as he found tax law too complicated).
After practising law for a decade, he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives and served between 1983 - 1990. Finding himself out of favour with the new House speaker, he took a step back from politics and instead started to focus more on his writing, which had been a hobby since college. Inspired by a case that a colleague had tried, A Time To Kill was published in 1988. Rejected by 28 publishers, it was eventually given a small print run of 5,000.
Grisham immediately started work on his second novel, The Firm. Published in 1991, it sold over 1.5 million copies, remained on the New York Times bestsellers chart for 47 weeks, and was made into a hit film starring Tom Cruise. Since then, he has written over 45 and sold over 300 million books worldwide. While mostly legal thrillers, in 2010 Grisham started the Theodore Boone series for children, featuring the eponymous 13-year hero who helps his classmates with their legal issues.
Accessible, fast-paced and engaging, John Grisham’s legal thrillers offer a realistic insight into the legal system, with authentic details coupled with intriguing plots and relatable characters. Well-crafted and compelling, his novels educate, entertain and prompt lively discussion on the myriad moral and ethical dilemmas he explores.
