Robert Harris Popular Books
Robert Harris Biography & Facts
Robert Dennis Harris (born 7 March 1957) is a British novelist and former journalist. Although he began his career in journalism and non-fiction, his fame rests upon his works of historical fiction. Beginning with the best-seller Fatherland, Harris focused on events surrounding the Second World War, followed by works set in ancient Rome. His most recent works centre on contemporary history. Early life and education Robert Harris spent his childhood in a small rented house on a Nottingham council estate. His ambition to become a writer arose at an early age, from visits to the local printing plant where his father worked. Harris went to Belvoir High School in Bottesford, Leicestershire, and then King Edward VII School, Melton Mowbray, where a hall was later named after him. There he wrote plays and edited the school magazine. He lived at 17 Fleming Avenue. Harris read English literature at Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he was elected president of the Cambridge Union and editor of Varsity, the oldest student newspaper at Cambridge University. Career Early career After leaving Cambridge, Harris joined the BBC and worked on news and current affairs programmes such as Panorama and Newsnight. In 1987, at the age of 30, he became political editor of the newspaper The Observer. He later wrote regular columns for The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph. Non-fiction (1982–1990) Harris co-wrote his first book, A Higher Form of Killing (1982), with fellow BBC journalist Jeremy Paxman: this was a study of chemical and biological warfare. Other non-fiction works followed: Gotcha! The Government, the Media and the Falklands Crisis (1983) covering the Falklands War; The Making of Neil Kinnock (1984), a profile of Kinnock just after he became leader of the Opposition; Selling Hitler (1986), an investigation of the Hitler Diaries scandal; and Good and Faithful Servant (1990), a study of Bernard Ingham, press secretary to Margaret Thatcher while she was prime minister. Fiction Fatherland (1992) Harris's bestselling first novel, the alternative-history Fatherland, has as its setting a world where Nazi Germany won the Second World War. Publication enabled Harris to become a full-time novelist. It was adapted as a television film by HBO in 1994. Harris has stated that the proceeds from the book enabled him to buy a former vicarage in Berkshire that he jokingly dubbed "the house that Hitler built", where he still lives. Enigma (1995) His second novel, Enigma, portrayed the breaking of the German Enigma cipher during the Second World War at Cambridge University and Bletchley Park. It was adapted as a film by writer Tom Stoppard, starring Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet, in 2001. Archangel (1998) Archangel was another international best seller. It follows a British historian in contemporary Russia as he hunts for a secret notebook, believed to be Stalin's diary. It was adapted as a television film by the BBC, starring Daniel Craig, in 2005. Pompeii (2003) In 2003 Harris turned his attention to ancient Rome with Pompeii. The novel is about a Roman aqueduct engineer, working near the city of Pompeii just before the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE. As the aqueducts begin to malfunction, he investigates and realises the volcano is shifting the ground beneath and is near eruption. Meanwhile, he falls in love with the young daughter of a powerful local businessman who was illicitly dealing with his predecessor to divert municipal water for his own uses, and will do anything to keep that deal going. Imperium (2006) In 2006, Harris followed up on Pompeii with another Roman-era work, Imperium, the first novel in a trilogy centred on the life of the great Roman orator and lawyer Marcus Tullius Cicero. The Ghost (2007) Harris was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Tony Blair (a personal acquaintance) and a donor to New Labour, but the war in Iraq blunted his enthusiasm. "We had our ups and downs, but we didn't really fall out until the invasion of Iraq, which made no sense to me," Harris has said. In 2007, after Blair resigned, Harris dropped his other work to write The Ghost. The title refers both to a professional ghostwriter, whose lengthy memorandum forms the novel, and to his immediate predecessor who, as the action opens, has just drowned in gruesome and mysterious circumstances. The dead man has been ghosting the autobiography of a recently unseated British prime minister called Adam Lang, a thinly veiled version of Blair. The fictional counterpart of Cherie Blair is depicted as a sinister manipulator of her husband. Harris told The Guardian before publication: "The day this appears a writ might come through the door. But I would doubt it, knowing him." Harris said in a U.S. National Public Radio interview that politicians like Lang and Blair, particularly when they have been in office for a long time, become divorced from everyday reality, read little and end up with a pretty limited overall outlook. When it comes to writing their memoirs, they therefore tend to have all the more need of a ghostwriter. Harris hinted at a third, far less obvious, allusion hidden in the novel's title, and, more significantly, at a possible motive for having written the book in the first place. Blair, he said, had himself been ghostwriter, in effect, to President Bush when giving public reasons for invading Iraq: he had argued the case better than had the President himself. The New York Observer, headlining its otherwise hostile review The Blair Snitch Project, commented that the book's "shock-horror revelation" was "so shocking it simply can't be true, though if it were it would certainly explain pretty much everything about the recent history of Great Britain." Roman Polanski and Harris adapted the novel as the film The Ghost Writer (2010). Lustrum (2009) The second novel in the Cicero trilogy, Lustrum, was published in October 2009. It was released in February 2010 in the US under the alternative title of Conspirata. The Fear Index (2011) The Fear Index was published by Hutchinson in September 2011. It focuses on the 2010 Flash Crash and follows an American expat hedge fund operator living in Geneva who activates a new system of computer algorithms that he names VIXAL-4, which is designed to operate faster than human beings, but which begins to become uncontrollable by its human operators. It was adapted by Sky Atlantic in 2022 as a 4-part limited series starring Josh Hartnett. An Officer and a Spy (2013) An Officer and a Spy is the story of French officer Georges Picquart, a historical character, who is promoted in 1895 to run France's Statistical Section, its secret intelligence division. He gradually realises that Alfred Dreyfus has been unjustly imprisoned for acts of espionage committed by another man who is still free and still spying for the Germans. He risks his career and his life to expose the truth. Harris was inspired to write the novel by his friend Roman Polanski, who adapte.... Discover the Robert Harris popular books. 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Best Seller Robert Harris Books of 2024
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The Ill-Made Knight
Christian Cameron'Brilliantly evoked' SUNDAY TIMESDiscover the first medieval adventure in the actionpacked Chivalry series! Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Simon Scarrow and Conn Iggulden.Se...
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Alexander
Christian CameronThe ultimate historical adventure novel: the life of Alexander the Great in a single, epic volume.To many he was a god. To others he was a monster. The truth is even more extraordi...
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The Road to Camelot
Thomas OliphantA “provocative reconstruction of John F. Kennedy’s ‘fiveyear campaign’ for the White House” (The New Yorker), beginning with his bold, failed attempt to win the vice presidential n...
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Imposter 13
Rob SinclairTHE EXPLOSIVE FINALE TO THE SLEEPER 13 SERIESAgainst all odds, Aydin Torkal aka Sleeper 13 broke free from the terrorist group that took him as a child and raised him into a life...
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An Officer and a Spy
Robert HarrisNATIONAL BESTSELLER A whistleblower. A witch hunt. A coverup. Secret tribunals, outofcontrol intelligence agencies, and government corruption. Welcome to 1890s Paris....
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Cinematography
Kris MalkiewiczThe Essential Guide to the Cameraman's Craft Since its initial publication in 1973, Cinematography has become the guidebook for filmmakers. Based on their combined fifty years in ...
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Discipleshapes
Jim R Harris, Virgil Grant & Greg GillumThis interactive workbook is designed to help introduce discipleship concepts to others. It is ideal for a small group discussion over coffee. Although its fun to use this tool, do...
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The Guilty Wife
Elle CroftTHE TOP 10 EBOOK BESTSELLER 'A gripping tale of betrayal, deceit, and duplicity. Fabulous.' Jenny Blackhurst, author of How I Lost You 'Relentless and intense...I loved the final ...
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The Three Locks
Bonnie MacBirdA heatwave melts London as Holmes and Watson are called to action in this new Sherlock Holmes adventure by Bonnie MacBird, author of “one of the best Sherlock Holmes novels of rece...
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Imperium
Robert HarrisFrom the bestselling author of Fatherland and Pompeii, comes the first novel of a trilogy about the struggle for power in ancient Rome.In his “most accomplished work to date” (Los ...
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Rigged
Mollie HemingwayFROM THE AUTHOR OF THE #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER JUSTICE ON TRIALStunned by the turbulence of the 2020 election, millions of Americans are asking the forbidden question: what really h...
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The Green Count
Christian CameronOne of the finest historical fiction writers in the world Ben KaneAfter the bloody trials of Alexandria, Sir William Gold is readying for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to ease the bur...
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Sleeper 13
Rob Sinclair'One of the most intense and engrossing thrillers of the last decade' Amazon reviewerAn actionpacked and utterly gripping, globetrotting thriller for fans of I AM PILGRIM by Terr...
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Munich
Robert HarrisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the bestselling author of V2 and Fatherlanda WWIIera spy thriller set against the backdrop of the fateful Munich Conference of September 1938. Now a...
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Discipleship Journal
Jim R HarrisThis journal was designed for disciples to get in the Word with Jesus daily. The first 8 weeks are Jesus 101 a video based small group discussion series and weeks 930 are bas...
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Caligula
Douglas JacksonPerfect for fans of Robert Harris, Conn Iggulden and Simon Scarrow, a riveting thriller set in Ancient Rome from bestselling author Douglas Jackson."...gripping Roman thriller. It'...
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A Certain Darkness
Anna Lee HuberSet in Downton Abbeyera postWorld War I England, this actionpacked series from the USA Today bestselling author of the Lady Darby Mysteries is a treat for fans of Jacqueline Winspe...
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Midnight in Chernobyl
Adam HigginbothamA New York Times Best Book of the Year A Time Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Winner One of NPR’s...
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Marathon
Christian CameronTwo and a half thousand years ago, the Greeks and the Persians fought an epic battle to decide the future of the world...Arimnestos of Plataea grew up wanting to be a bronzesmith, ...
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Sword and Scimitar
Simon ScarrowSWORD AND SCIMITAR is the gripping tale of the Great Siege of Malta from Simon Scarrow, bestselling author of the Eagles of the Empire series. A must read for fans of Conn Iggulden...
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Glory of Rome
Douglas JacksonA riveting and allaction historical pageturner from bestselling author Douglas Jackson that will have you gripped from page one! Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane.Read...
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Eagle in the Snow
Wallace BreemA classic historical novel about General Maximus, one of the inspirations behind Ridley Scott's massively successful film GLADIATOR.'Behind me I left my youth, my middle age, my wi...
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Pompeii
Robert HarrisBESTSELLER "Terrific... gripping... A literally shattering climax." The New York Times Book Review All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire’s richest citizens are...
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Defender of Rome
Douglas JacksonThis riveting and actionpacked historical thriller from bestselling author Douglas Jackson is real edge of your seat stuff! Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane.Readers a...
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Unquiet Spirits
Bonnie MacBirdThe new novel from the author of Art in the Blood. December 1889. Fresh from debunking a “ghostly” hound in Dartmoor, Sherlock Holmes has returned to London, only to find himself t...
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Fugitive 13
Rob SinclairThe explosive, gripping new thriller from bestselling author Rob Sinclair for fans of Orphan X, I Am Pilgrim and Nomad.Aydin Torkal aka Sleeper 13 is on the run.Hunted not only ...
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V2
Robert HarrisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the bestselling author of Fatherland and Munich comes a WWII thriller about a German rocket engineer, a former actress turned British spy, and the Na...
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The Great King
Christian CameronThe heroic story of Arimnestos of Plataea continues a thrilling historical adventure set amid the epic struggle between Greece and Persia perfect for fans of the blockbusting fil...
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Lionheart
Ben KaneTHE FIRST BOOK IN BEN KANE'S EPIC RICHARD THE LIONHEART SERIES HISTORICAL FICTION WRITING AT ITS FINEST'A riproaring epic, filled with arrows and spattered with blood' Paul Finch1...
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Arena
Simon Scarrow & T. J. AndrewsARENA is a Sunday Times bestselling novel from Simon Scarrow, author of CENTURION, THE GLADIATOR and BRITANNIA, and T.J. Andrews. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell.It is AD 41. ...
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Hammer of Rome
Douglas JacksonPerfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane, this formidable and compelling historical thriller from bestselling author Douglas Jackson will have you absolutely gripped..."Spect...
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The Second Sleep
Robert HarrisFrom the internationally bestselling author of Fatherland and the Cicero Trilogya chilling and dark new thriller unlike anything Robert Harris has done before.1468. A young priest,...
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Conclave
Robert HarrisThe bestselling author of Enigma and Fatherland turns to today's Vatican in a rippedfromtheheadlines novel, and gives us his most ambitious, pageturning thriller yetwhere the power...
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Enemy of Rome
Douglas JacksonA gripping, adrenalinfuelled historical pageturner from bestselling author Douglas Jackson. Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane.Readers are loving Gaius Valerius Verrens...
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Killer of Men
Christian CameronIn the epic clash of Greece and Persia, a hero is forged a monumental novel from the author of the Tyrant series.Arimnestos is a farm boy when war breaks out between the citizens ...
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The Falling Sword
Ben KaneCAN GREECE RESIST THE MIGHT OF ROME?Get ready for the climax of the Roman invasion of Greece in Sunday Times bestseller Ben Kane's latest historical adventure.ONE FINAL CLASHReelin...
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The Long Sword
Christian Cameron'One of the finest historical fiction writers in the world' Ben KanePisa, May 1364.Sir William Gold is looking forward to a lucrative career as a hired sword in the endless warring...
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Claudius
Douglas JacksonFrom bestselling author Douglas Jackson, a gripping and visceral novel of the Roman invasion of Britain, for fans of Conn Iggulden and Simon Scarrow."What stands out are Jackson's ...
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Denial
Peter JamesIntroducing policeman Glenn Branson...When actress Gloria Lamark takes her own life, her devoted son, Thomas, is heartbroken. Something must be wrong with a world in which such a t...
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The Glory Boys
Douglas ReemanAs we've come to expect from multimillion copy bestselling author Douglas Reeman, The Glory Boys expertly weaves close and detailed knowledge of the actual events of WWII into a si...