Robert Denis Harris is a British writer, former journalist and TV reporter for the BBC. He started his career in scientific literature, but became famous in the works of science fiction. After the first bestseller, Fatherland focused on the events of World War II, and then moved on to the topic of ancient Rome. Harris's recent work has been based on modern history.
Biography
Robert Harris was born on March 7, 1957 in Nottingham. He spent his childhood in a small rented house on the Nottingham estate. From an early age, Robert dreamed of becoming a writer, thanks to the fact that he often visited the local printing house where his father worked.
He received his secondary education at Belvoir High School in Bottesford, Leicestershire. After school he entered the School of King Edward VII "Melton Mowbray", one of the halls of which was later named in his honor. During his studies, he already wrote plays and edited a school magazine.
He continued his education at Selvin College, Cambridge, majoring in English literature. At Cambridge, he was elected president of the Cambridge Union and editor of the student newspaper Varsity, the oldest newspaper at the university.
Career
After graduating from Cambridge, Robert Harris joined the BBC and worked on news and current affairs programs such as Panorama and Newsnight. In 1987, at the age of 30, he became political editor for The Observer. He later wrote regular columns for the Sunday Times and Daily Telegraph.
Harris published his first book in 1982. It was a scientific study called Chemical and Biological Warfare. The second book, A Higher Form of Murder, was co-written with fellow BBC journalist Jeremy Paxman. This was followed by other popular science works: "The Government, the Media and the Crisis of the Falkland Islands" (1983), "The Creation of Neil Kinnock" (1984), "The Sale of Hitler" (1986), Investigation of the "Hitler Diaries" scandal and "Good and the Faithful Servant”(1990), a study by Bernard Ingem and Margaret Thatcher“Press Secretary”.
He briefly worked as a columnist for the Sunday Times, but retired in 1997. In 2001, he returned to journalism, taking a job at the Daily Telegraph. In 2003 he won the British Press Awards Columnist of the Year.
Creation
Artworks by Robert Harris:
- Fatherland (1982) is a novel in the genre of alternative history. The plot tells about the world in which Germany won the Second World War. The proceeds from the sale of books allowed Harris not only to buy a house in the UK, but also not to care for his daily bread for the rest of his life. In 1994, HBO made a film of the same name based on his novel.
- Enigma (1995) is a novel about the hacking of the German Enigma encryption machine during World War II at the University of Cambridge. Based on the novel, a film of the same name was filmed with Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet in the lead roles.
- Archangel (1998) is an international bestseller. According to the plot, a British historian in modern Russia is hunting for a notebook - Stalin's personal diary. In 2005, the BBC filmed a mini-series based on the book with Daniel Craig in the title role.
- Pompeii (2003) is a novel about the times of ancient Rome. The plot tells about the Pompeian aqueducts, which began to malfunction and thereby warned of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.
- Imperium (2006) is the first novel in a trilogy, dedicated to the life of the great Roman orator Cicero.
- The Ghost (2007) is a novel about a professional ghost writer who died under dire and mysterious circumstances and is now writing the memoirs of Tony Blair and Adam Lang, British Prime Ministers. These prime ministers have been in office for so long that they lag behind everyday reality, read little and have a very limited general outlook, so they need a ghost writer who argues the reasons for their actions much better than themselves.
- Lustrum (2009) is the second novel in the Cicero trilogy. It was published in the USA under the name Consirata.
- Fear Index (2011) is a novel dedicated to the new system of computer algorithms VIXAL-4, which, according to the plot, acts much faster than humans and begins to become uncontrollable.
- The Officer and the Spy (2013) is the story of the French officer Georges Picquart, who in 1895 became head of the French Statistical Office and its secret intelligence unit. The protagonist realizes that Alfred Dreyfus was unjustly imprisoned, that the real spy is still at large and spies on the French in favor of the Germans. Risking his career and life, Georges Pickwart reveals the truth.
- The Dictator (2015) is the final novel in the Cicero trilogy.
- The Conclave (2016) is a novel about 72 hours in the Vatican, preceding the election of a new fictional pope.
- Munich (2017) is a thriller set during negotiations on the 1938 Munich Agreement between Hitler and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Chamberlain, according to historian Nigel Jones, is presented in the work as "a dumb and arrogant fool who allowed Hitler to trample his boots everywhere."
- The Second Dream (2019) is a debilitating thriller novel. In the story, a young priest arrives in a remote English city for a funeral and discovers the secrets of this town.
Screen adaptations of works
In 2007, Harris wrote the screenplay for Pompeii based on his novel of the same name for director Roman Palanski. Harris, along with Polanski, wanted to shoot one of the most expensive European films starring Orlando Bloom and Scarlett Johansson based on this scenario, but the project was canceled due to the actors' strike.
In 2008, Harris wrote the screenplay for Polanski's Ghost, starring Nicolas Cage and Pierce Brosnan. But filming was postponed for a year. During this time, Cage and Brosnan were replaced by Evan McGregor and Olivia Williams, and the title was changed to "The Ghost Writer." The film premiered at the 2010 Berlin Film Festival. Harris and Polanski shared the Cesar Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
By 2012, Harris for the same Roman Polanski wrote the script for the film "The Officer and the Spy." But due to production difficulties, filming began only at the end of 2018 with Jean Dujardin in the title role.
Radio and TV appearances
Harris starred in the BBC satirical television series I Got News for You in a 1990 episode. After that, he again starred in the same series the following year. His third appearance on this program was in 2007, 17 years after his first appearance on the series. The gap between the second and third appearance was 16 years. At that time, it was the longest gap between two consecutive appearances in the history of the series.
In 2010, Harris talked about his childhood and personal friendships with Tony Blair and Roman Polanski on the Desert Islands radio show.
On the 2012 American show Charlie Rose, Harris discussed his novel Fear Index and the adaptation of his novel The Ghost for the film The Phantom Writer directed by Roman Polanski.
Personal life
Harris acquired a former priest's house in Kintbury, near Newbury, Berkshire. In it he still lives with his wife Jill Hornby, a writer and sister of the best-selling author Nick Hornby. The couple have four children.
