The Testament (John Grisham novel)

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The Testament
The book cover of The Testament.jpg
First edition cover
Author John Grisham
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Adventure Story
PublisherDoubleday
Publication date
2 February 1999
Media type Hardcover Paperback
Pages448
ISBN 0-09-924502-7

The Testament is an adventure story by American author John Grisham. It was published in hardcover by Doubleday on February 2, 1999. [1]

John Grisham American author

John Ray Grisham Jr. is an American novelist, attorney, politician, and activist, best known for his popular legal thrillers. His books have been translated into 42 languages and published worldwide.

Doubleday is an American publishing company. It was founded as the Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897 and was the largest in the United States by 1947. It published the work of mostly U.S. authors under a number of imprints and distributed them through its own stores. In 2009 Doubleday merged with Knopf Publishing Group to form the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, which is now part of Penguin Random House. In 2019 the official website presents Doubleday as an imprint, not a publisher.

Contents

Characters in "The Testament"

Troy Phelan, an eccentric, reclusive, ruthless billionaire businessman, commits suicide. In order to cut his family out of his will, he makes a fake will a few hours before his suicide, putting his family into that will. Minutes before his suicide, he shows his lawyer a new will that he would like carried out. This will leave only enough money to each of his heirs to pay off their debts up until the day of his death, and leaves everything else to Rachel Lane, an illegitimate daughter that none of his family and associates know about.

Josh Stafford, Troy's lawyer, confidante, and executor, must find Rachel, but he knows only that she is a missionary somewhere in Brazil. He decides to assign Nate O'Riley, a former high-powered litigator and recovering alcoholic, to find her. Nate is emerging from his fourth stay in rehab, and he reluctantly agrees to go. Josh manipulates the situation from behind the scenes.

Rachel Lane, an illegitimate daughter who Troy wills eleven billion dollars to. She is a missionary in Brazil who wants nothing to do with the money and refuses to sign any legal papers. She was re-contacted by her father when she was a teenager. Troy paid for her to attend college, but she then disappeared into medical school and seminary. She died after contracting malaria.

Nate O'Riley, the lawyer sent to find Rachel Lane. He has been off-and-on drugs/alcohol several times, crashing harder every time. A workaholic whose habits have shattered both of his marriages, he is sent to Brazil to get him away from the office. He has two children from his first marriage and two younger children from his second marriage. His encounter with Rachel eventually sets him on a path to spiritual redemption. He grew feelings for Rachel, before she died.

The Phelan Children, six children that were born to three different women (a seventh one died in a car accident). All of them, despite being given a gift of $5 million at the age of 21, are either broke or heavily in debt. They are desperate for a cut of Troy's wealth and employ even greedier lawyers.

Film adaptation

According to The Hollywood Reporter , in 2009, producers Mark Johnson and Hunt Lowry were developing a film adaptation of The Testament. Stuart Blumberg was attached to direct the film adaptation.[ citation needed ]

<i>The Hollywood Reporter</i> American magazine and website focusing on the Hollywood entertainment industry

The Hollywood Reporter (THR) is an American digital and print magazine, and website, which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large-format print magazine with a revamped website.

Mark Johnson (producer) American film producer

Mark Johnson is an American film and television producer. Johnson won the Best Picture Academy Award for producing the 1988 drama movie Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. The film, winner of four Oscars, also captured a Golden Globe for Best Picture.

Stuart Blumberg is an American screenwriter, actor, producer and director.

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References

  1. "Fiction Book Review". Publishers' Weekly. Retrieved 13 February 2018.