Lee Child: Author on the success of the Reacher TV show, Neagley spinoff show and new book series focused on her
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Why did Lee Child move back to the UK after decades in the United States?
Right, in the election campaign it's not just political parties who make promises, far less deliver. Last week we had the stars of the Reacher spin off Neely on the show, uh Maria Sten and Grayston Holt. Uh you asked whether we should have Lee Child back as well, and that seemed like a very good idea. So just like that it happens. Lee Child is with us. Good morning to you. Good morning, how are you? I'm extremely well indeed. Um a number of years since we chatted and it's good to catch up. And I find you yet again every time we talk in a completely different country. So you've moved. Where are you where have you moved to and are you loving it?
I've moved back to the UK and I know you keep your pulse on what happens in America, so I'll leave you to guess why. So you uh you're a Trump refugee? I am. I'm a pol I'm a seeking political asylum in the country I left all those years ago. And uh yeah, it's great to be back. I'm living in the lake district. Which is uh the you know, a national park. It's the most beautiful part of England, it's a bit like the South Island of New Zealand. Uh, lakes, mountains, the whole thing. So uh I'm very happy to be back.
Good. What are you back permanently, do you think, or would it change your presidency you go back to America?
No, I'm back permanently. You know, my p a guy my age fell in love with a certain America, that postwar legendary, mythic America. uh, you know, the prosperity of the fifties, the this sort of dynamism, the optimism going to the moon. That period and that's you know, that's just gone. Uh Trump is the final nail in that coffin. It is now a nasty, toxic, unpleasant place to live. And I live for pleasure and there was none to be had there. So here I am. That's interesting 'cause last
last time we talked to you, you're in Wyoming and there's about you and m three other people in Wyoming. Even the wide open spaces of Wyoming couldn't get you away from what's happened with the country.
No, because you know, you don't bump into many people in Wyoming, but you b when you do, they look at you and think, Are you a Democrat? And you look at them and you think, Are you a Trump voter? It is just that bad now.
Wow. So w what's it like to be in your position to to to one, return home to your homeland and two, be able to just basically live anywhere you want and what's the criteria for what you look for when you move in that sense?
Well, in a funny way, it's a bit of a problem for writers 'cause obviously we don't have to live anywhere particular.
How does Lee Child choose where to live as a writer?
It's not like my old job where I had to live near the T V studios where I worked. Um and it makes you foot loose. You know, w wherever you are, you think, Well, would this be better? Would that be better? So I've moved around quite a lot. I lived in France for a couple of years. I lived on the east coast, New New York mostly. Do you remember you You came over and we ten years ago that was uh I mean a lot it seems like yesterday, but it was ten years ago. Uh, for the tr first Trump election and um So then I moved out to Wyoming for a bit and now I'm back in the UK and it feels weird, you know, coming back after nearly thirty years, it's a different country, a lot has changed, a lot is kinda still the same, but uh I'm getting used to it and I'm I'm feeling
relaxed and very happy. Fantastic. Is there a difference 'cause I mean it's not like you hadn't been to Britain in the ensuing years because you do it all the time with your writing. But is is living in Britain different to touring Britain given you are originally from Britain?
Yes it is, 'cause first of all I gotta find my own w way places. You know, I don't have uh drivers and stuff like that anymore. And so I'm in the car and I think, yeah, of course I know Britain. I grew up here. I you know, this town is here, that town is there. Uh and then you get there, they're completely different, basically unrecognizable, the roads are all different, there are new motorways, d there are new laws. I mean the first First few months I got three speeding tickets. It was terrible.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why did Lee Child move back to the UK after decades in the United States?
0:00–2:34
2
How does Lee Child choose where to live as a writer?
2:34–4:23
3
What prompted Lee Child to leave the United States after the election?
4:23–5:21
4
Does Lee Child miss New York after settling in the Lake District?
5:21–6:01
5
How successful is the Reacher TV show, and why is the Neagley spinoff exciting?
6:01–7:07
6
How did the Reacher TV writers help Lee Child develop Frances Neagley?
7:07–8:00
7
Why is Yasmin Angoe co-writing Lee Child’s new Neagley thriller series?
8:00–10:07
8
Why do Reacher stories about simple justice appeal to audiences?
10:07–11:20
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The Mike Hosking Breakfast
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