John Grisham Novels

Fun Facts About John Grisham Novels

• A Time to Kill (1989) was John Grisham's debut novel. It was inspired by real courtroom testimony he overheard in 1984 from a 12-year-old rape victim. He wondered what would happen if the girl's father murdered her assailants, sparking the idea of a father seeking revenge.
• The Firm (1991) was Grisham's second novel. It became such a massive success, spending 47 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, that he quit law to become a full-time writer.
• The Pelican Brief (1992) was written in just three months. Its film rights sold for over $1 million before Grisham even finished it, setting a record for an unreleased book at the time.
• About a dozen of Grisham's novels have been adapted into major films starring A-list actors. This includes:
  • A Time to Kill (1996) starring Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, Samuel L. Jackson
  • The Pelican Brief (1993) Julia Roberts, Sam Shepard, John Heard, Denzel Washington
  • The Firm (1993) Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Holly Hunter, Ed Harris
  • The Client (1994) Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Mary-Louise Parker, Brad Renfro
  • The Rainmaker (1997) Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Jon Voight, Claire Danes, Dean Stockwell
• Many of John Grisham's legal thrillers are set in the fictional town of Clanton, Mississippi, located in Ford County.
• John Grisham's writing routine is well-known. He typically completes a manuscript in about six months, writes about 1,000 words a day, and starts a new book every January 1st.
• Grisham's books have sold over 300 million copies worldwide and been translated into almost 50 languages, making him one of the world's best-selling authors.