John Ray Grisham Jr. is an American novelist, lawyer, and former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his best-selling legal thrillers. According to the American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 consecutive number-one fiction bestsellers, and his books have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Along with Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling, Grisham is one of only three anglophone authors to have sold two million copies on the first printing.
Legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice plays a critical role in the film's narrative. Legal dramas have also followed the lives of the fictional attorneys, defendants, plaintiffs, or other persons related to the practice of law present in television show or film. Legal drama is distinct from police crime drama or detective fiction, which typically focus on police officers or detectives investigating and solving crimes. The focal point of legal dramas, more often, are events occurring within a courtroom, but may include any phases of legal procedure, such as jury deliberations or work done at law firms. Some legal dramas fictionalize real cases that have been litigated, such as the play-turned-movie, Inherit the Wind, which fictionalized the Scopes Monkey Trial. As a genre, the term "legal drama" is typically applied to television shows and films, whereas legal thrillers typically refer to novels and plays.
The Rainmaker is a 1997 American legal drama film written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola based on John Grisham's 1995 novel of the same name. It stars Matt Damon, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, Mary Kay Place, Mickey Rourke, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Roy Scheider, Virginia Madsen, and Teresa Wright in her final film role.
The Client is a 1993 legal thriller novel written by American author John Grisham. It is Grisham's fourth novel and follows the story of an 11-year-old boy, Mark Sway, who becomes entangled in a mob-related legal case after witnessing the suicide of a lawyer who knows the location of a murdered U.S. senator’s body. The novel is set primarily in Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
A Time to Kill is a 1989 legal thriller and debut novel by American author John Grisham. The novel was rejected by many publishers before Wynwood Press eventually gave it a 5,000-copy printing. When Doubleday published The Firm, Wynwood released a trade paperback of A Time to Kill, which became a bestseller. Dell published the mass market paperback months after the success of The Firm, bringing Grisham to widespread popularity among readers. Doubleday eventually took over the contract for A Time to Kill and released a special hardcover edition.
The legal thriller genre is a type of crime fiction genre that focuses on the proceedings of the investigation, with particular reference to the impacts on courtroom proceedings and the lives of characters.
The Runaway Jury is a legal thriller novel written by American author John Grisham. It was Grisham's seventh novel. The hardcover first edition was published by Doubleday Books in 1996 (ISBN 0-385-47294-3). Pearson Longman released the graded reader edition in 2001 (ISBN 0-582-43405-X). The novel was published again in 2003 to coincide with the release of Runaway Jury, a movie adaptation of the novel starring Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, John Cusack and Rachel Weisz. The third printing (ISBN 0-440-22147-1) bears a movie-themed cover, in place of the covers used on the first and second printings.
The Chamber (1994) is a legal thriller written by American author John Grisham. It is Grisham's fifth novel.
The Partner (1997) is a legal/thriller novel by American author John Grisham. It was Grisham's eighth novel.
The Firm is a 1991 legal thriller by American writer John Grisham. It was his second book and the first that gained wide popularity. In 1993, after selling 1.5 million copies, it was adapted into a film of the same name starring Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman and Jeanne Tripplehorn. Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill, came into prominence afterwards due to this novel's success.
The Last Juror is a 2004 legal thriller novel by John Grisham, first published by Doubleday on February 3, 2004.
The Brethren is a 2000 legal thriller novel by American author John Grisham.
A Time to Kill is a 1996 American legal drama film based on John Grisham's 1989 novel of the same name. Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, and Kevin Spacey star, with Donald and Kiefer Sutherland appearing in supporting roles and Octavia Spencer in her film debut. The film received mixed reviews but was a commercial success, making $152 million worldwide. It is the second of two films based on Grisham's novels directed by Joel Schumacher, with the other being The Client released two years prior.
Trial film is a subgenre of the legal/courtroom drama that encompasses films that are centered on a civil or criminal trial, typically a trial by jury.
The Appeal is a 2008 novel by John Grisham, his 21st book and his first fictional legal thriller since The Broker in 2005. The novel explores the interplay of corporate power, politics, and judicial ethics in the U.S. legal system, focusing on the influence of money in judicial elections.
The Racketeer is a legal thriller novel written by John Grisham that was released on October 23, 2012 by Doubleday with an initial printing of 1.5 million copies. It was one of the best selling books of 2012 and spent several weeks atop various best seller lists.
Sycamore Row is a legal thriller novel by American author John Grisham published by Doubleday on October 22, 2013. The novel reached the top spot in the US best-seller list. It is preceded by A Time to Kill and followed by A Time for Mercy.
The Reckoning is a best-selling novel by John Grisham. In addition to Grisham's typical legal thriller, the book was also characterized by reviewers as "a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, a family saga, a coming-of-age story," "a period piece", and a war novel.
A Time for Mercy, a legal thriller novel by American author John Grisham, is the sequel to A Time to Kill and Sycamore Row. The latest book features the return of the character Jake Brigance, a small-town Mississippi lawyer who takes on difficult cases. The novel was released on October 13, 2020.
The Exchange: After The Firm is a legal thriller novel by John Grisham, serving as a sequel to his famous work The Firm. The book delves into the life of Mitch McDeere, the protagonist of The Firm, exploring his new challenges fifteen years after the events of the first novel.
