Robert Harris Q&A
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What book did Robert Harris most recently enjoy reading?
Hello and welcome. It's our bonus Q&A episode in the studio with the international bestselling superstar that is Robert Harris. Robert, what is the last book that you really, really enjoyed reading?
I really enjoyed Regime Change by the two New York Times journalists about the Trump second term.
Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
Yes, I thought it was riveting in that way of American instant history that pioneered in a way by Woodward and Bernstein with Nixon. Once you've read it, then you can see the world more clearly because you know the crazy way in which America is being run. Is
there an idea in a book, a plot perhaps, or even a character that you've read and seen with envious eyes and wished you'd come up with yourself?
Oh, God, no end, really. I've never forgotten the plot twist at the end of Presumed Innocent, the Scott Turow legal thriller. which I thought was brilliant. I've always admired the creation of the character of George Smiley. It's sort of opposite of everything you'd expect in a thriller, but I think that was a brilliant creation by Le Carre. And actually, just looking at thrillers, I don't know if you remember Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith. I thought that was one of the most beautifully written popular novels that I've ever come across, and stunningly original.
Yes. I was still thinking about your answer about regime change, because I've got the audiobook and you've read the book. And it is, I mean, they do say it's like a first draft of history. So if you write historical fiction, it must be like a treasure, really. Every page has got like six or seven extraordinary stories.
Yeah, that's it. One of the things that has been at the heart of my career, I suppose it's because I came... business of novel writing as a journalist before, is that the truth, the facts, are always more interesting than any story. I mean, that is why so many of my books are built around real-life incidents. The Prime Minister has this extraordinary affair as he's taking the country into the First World War, for instance, or the Gripper, or so many of them, an officer and a spy about the Dreyfus affair. The reality is so extraordinary that really I just want to try and put it in a setting, drop a character into it to enable someone to try and bring it alive and make it more vivid. And yes, regime change is something that really no fiction can get near, actually.
What was the worst job Robert Harris ever had?
Yeah.
So next question on our list here. I'm not sure if this is a knowing question or not, but what is the worst job you've ever had?
I don't think I've ever had a really rotten job. Before I went to university, I worked in a chemical factory in Nottingham. But it was only a couple of months. And it was the sort of thing I realized how good it was to get to university and get away from that job. By and large, I've been very fortunate. My first real proper job was at the BBC, which was great. And then I went into newspapers, and then I started writing novels. So I really don't have any complaints. There were bits of my career that I could have done without. I was never much of a news-gathering journalist, to be perfectly honest. I don't think I'd recognize a scoop if it fell on my head. So I was quite glad to move from news reporting to column writing, which I did.
When you're reading for pleasure, do you always finish a book?
No, not always. There was a book, which shall be nameless, that got a lot of prizes a few years ago and that my wife was constantly telling me to read. And so I thought, right, I'll do it. And oh, my God, I dragged and dragged and dragged my way through it. And finally, I got about two-thirds of the way through and thought, this is just ruining my holiday. I just cannot go on with it any longer. And I threw it in the sea. You literally threw it
in
the sea? Yes. I did then fish it
out because it was a bit of
a pollution.
Wow.
Afterwards, I'll tell you what it was.
Does Robert Harris always finish the books he starts, and what does he do with the ones he abandons?
The image of you throwing it in the sea, that's what I love. That's superb. Did you know the author?
No, no, no. I'd read another book by the author, which I quite enjoyed, but this was the one that made them famous.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What book did Robert Harris most recently enjoy reading?
0:10–3:01
2
What was the worst job Robert Harris ever had?
3:01–4:37
3
Does Robert Harris always finish the books he starts, and what does he do with the ones he abandons?
4:37–6:51
4
What is Robert Harris’s daily writing routine and does he snack while he works?
6:51–9:01
5
How are Robert Harris’s bookshelves organized and what special collections does he keep?
9:01–10:54
6
Which film adaptation does Robert Harris consider his favorite and why?
10:54–13:17
7
How does Robert Harris choose historical gaps to turn into novels, like with Agrippa?
13:17–15:32
8
Which three authors would Robert Harris invite to his fantasy dinner party?
15:32–17:07