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John Grisham
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John Grisham
was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas. His father, a cotton farmer and itinerant
construction worker moved the family frequently, from town to town
throughout the Deep South, settling in Southaven, Mississippi in 1967.
Although his parents lacked formal education, his mother encouraged
him to read and insisted that he prepare himself for college. By his
own account, he had no interest in writing until after he embarked
on his professional career. For his first two years in college, Grisham
drifted, attending three different colleges before earning a degree.
After abandoning a youthful dream of a professional baseball career,
he settled down to study accounting and prepare for a career as a
tax lawyer. While in law school, his interest shifted from tax law
to criminal law and litigation. After graduating from the University
of Mississippi law school, he established a small private legal practice
in Southaven Mississippi. He was elected the to Mississippi House
of Representatives in 1983. By his second term he held the vice chairmanship
of the Apportionment and Elections Committee, as well as memberships
on the Insurance, Judiciary A, and Military Affairs Committee.
In Mississippi, attorneys in private practice are sometimes called
upon to appear as public defenders for indigent clients. In this way,
Grisham received invaluable experience of the criminal justice system.
Inspired by a case he observed in a Mississippi courthouse, Grisham
decided to write a novel. For years, he arrived at his office at five
o'clock in the morning, six days a week, to work on his first book,
A Time To Kill. His manuscript was rejected by 28 publishers before
he found an unknown publisher who was willing to print a short run.
Without the benefit of a major publisher's marekting apparatus, the
novice author went directly to booksellers, encouraging them to stock
his book. Although A Time to Kill sold a disappointing 5,000 copies,
Grisham had already begun work on a second novel The Firm. At the
same time, bored with the routine of the state capital and eager to
spend more time with his family, he decided not to seek re-election
to the state legislature. He closed his law practice and moved his
family to Oxford, Mississippi, determined to concentrate on his writing.
At age 36, his career as a novelist bloomed when movie rights to The
Firm were sold for a hefty price, even before the book had found a
publisher. The Firm, has sold more than seven million copies and spent
47 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Grisham's next offering,
The Pelican Brief, sold six million copies. Within a few years, The
Firm, The Pelican Brief, and his subsequent effort, The Client, (1993)
had all been made into successful films. His other novels include
The Chamber (1994), The Rainmaker (1995),The Runaway Jury (1996) and
The Partner (1997).
Novels by John Grisham
- Bleachers (2003)
- The King of Torts (2003)
- The Summons (2002)
- A Painted House (2001)
- The Brethren (2000)
- The Testament (1999)
- The Street Lawyer (1998)
- The Partner (1997)
- The Runaway Jury (1996)
- The Rainmaker (1995)
- The Chamber(1994)
- The Client (1993)
- The Pelican Brief (1992)
- The Firm (1991)
- A Time to Kill (1989)
Novellas by John Grisham
- Skipping Christmas (2001)
Screenplay by John Grisham
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