Thomas Harris: biography. Books and scripts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Thomas Harris is of great interest to connoisseurs of the detective and thriller genres. His works have gained popularity all over the world, and all, without exception, have been transferred to the film format. Everyone has heard of such a character as Hannibal Lecter, but not so much is known about his creator. What exactly in the life of the writer prompted him to create such a controversial literary character?

Biography

In 1940, an outstanding writer, journalist and screenwriter, Thomas Harris, was born. The biography of his life begins in the small town of Jackson, Tennessee, but he grew up in Mississippi, and in three different cities. At the age of 24, he graduated from Baylor University in Philology with a major in English. During his studies, Thomas did not waste time in vain and even then began working in the local press. Soon he meets his future wife, Harriet, who gave him a daughter named Annie. However, their marriage was not successful, and in the 60s the couple filed for divorce. Having a diploma with him, Thomas set off on a journey through Europe, and in 1968 he firmly settled in New York, where he worked for 6 years in a publishing house. Associated Press. Thanks to this, he received a very significant experience of interacting with the underworld. Perhaps this is what helped him build such realistic storylines related to criminal investigations in the future.

The beginning of a writer's career

The sad events in Munich, when 11 athletes died during the Olympic Games, became the impetus for the first novel. In 1975, Thomas Harris became the bestselling author of Black Sunday. The protagonist named Michael Lander is a Vietnamese who, together with the terrorist Dahlia, plans to carry out a large-scale terrorist attack. His goal is to fill the airship with explosives and blow up a huge stadium during the Super Bowl. The publication of the book brought the writer fame and very large fees. Thanks to this, he was able to continue to develop as an author, while not being distracted by other activities.

Red Dragon

The next piece took much longer to complete. In 1981, Thomas Harris introduces the reader to Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who has become one of the iconic images of our time. This hero is a serial killer who engages in cannibalism. He is endowed with extremely high intelligence, which allows him to get out of the water over and over again and fool experienced detectives around his finger. The book also became a worldwide bestseller, but the story itself did not end there, as the author decided to write a sequel.

Silence of the Lambs

The next part of the adventureDr. Lecter comes out after 7 long years and becomes the most famous work of the writer. This is evidenced not only by its circulation, but also by the victory in the nomination "Best Novel" at the Bram Stoker Prize. In addition to Hannibal himself, Clarice Starling appears in the book, who plays an important role in the plot. The image of the killer was derived simultaneously from four maniacs that existed in reality. From now on, every fan of thrillers and dramatic detective stories knows such a name as Thomas Harris. The photo below has become a kind of hallmark of the second novel in the series, as this symbol was printed on several versions of the cover. Although the butterfly is always depicted differently, it has become recognizable around the world.

Hannibal

Thomas Harris collection is replenished only after eleven years. The next book is modestly titled Hannibal. The most popular justification for such a long and painstaking work on the work is the author's excessive attention to the smallest details in his books. Such a characteristic awareness of the subject on which he writes has contributed to the highest praise from professional specialists. They also noted that the Dr. Lector trilogy helps to more effectively investigate crimes, as some interesting tips can be gleaned from it. The final part was warmly received by critics, although it had a rather controversial ending. Even Stephen King himself has marked it as one of the scariest novels he has ever read. Naturally, there were those who spoke negatively about Harris, but this is quite consistent with the laws of such a delicate craft as writing.

Screenings

For many years of his activity, the writer managed to be also a screenwriter. The directors resorted to his help during the filming of all the adaptations of his own works. The first film adaptation was the film "Black Sunday", in which the main roles were played by Robert Shaw and Bruce Dern. The writer's second novel was screened twice. The first time in 1986 the picture was released under the title "Manhunter", and the second - in 2002. Viewers are rather familiar with the second version of director Brett Ratner, largely due to the impressive cast, which included: Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins and Rafe Fiennes. In 1991, long before the release of Red Dragon, the world saw the cult film The Silence of the Lambs. Anthony Hopkins so successfully got used to the image of a lecturer that in the next two films he again tried it on himself. And 2001 was marked by the release of "Hannibal", filmed by Riddley Scott himself. Thomas Harris himself was directly involved in the work on all the adaptations. The films, thanks to his consultations, almost fully reflected the essence of the author's works.

Present and future activities

According to the contract with Bant Books, the author must write 2 more books, so that the literary thirst of the fans will surely be satisfied. In 2006, another novel aboutadventures of Hannibal. This time, the childhood and youthful periods of the life of the future killer are covered. A year later, the film adaptation of the same name "Hannibal Rising" followed, and Thomas Harris again took part in working on the script. Also, with his assistance, a television version of the work about a famous character was created, which went on the air for three years and was closed in the summer of 2015. It is known that the writer is now actively working on a new book, but neither the details of its content nor the release date have yet been made public. But given Harris' previous experience, it's safe to assume she's sure to make a splash.