BEST-SELLING thriller writer Lee Child will be talking about his life and work in an exclusive one-off interview at The Stratford Literary Festival.
The Jack Reacher author will be talking about the influence Shakespeare has had on his career during the event, called Reacher, Prospero and Me, on Monday September 28.
It will be broadcast via the Eventbrite platform for audiences from all over the UK and beyond and coincides with the launch of his biography written by Heather Martin.
Revelations will include a life-changing visit to Stratford to watch Henry IV, Part 2 – an experience that sparked a life-long love of Shakespeare, and which ultimately influenced the creation of his main protagonist, Jack Reacher.
Lee said: “Everyone’s life is full of formative moments and a lot of mine were at the RSC – directly or indirectly that company and that town taught me most of what I needed to know.”
Lee Child, real name James Dover Grant, was born in Coventry and now lives in New York. His Jack Reacher novels have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and spawned two films starring Tom Cruise. Awarded a CBE last year, he was the 2019 Author of the Year at the British Book Awards and is on the 2020 Booker Prize judging panel.
Biographer Heather Martin said: “One of the pleasures of doing the biography has been getting beyond the Reacher myth to the man himself; and not just the man but the boy, as enamoured of Shakespeare as of Aston Villa and The Beatles.”
The event, which is in association with Kenilworth Books, will be accessible via Eventbrite with a link at stratlitfest.co.uk, with a suggested pay-what-you-can ticket price from £5 upwards.
