Always Take Notes #168: Lee Child, novelist
Lee Child, bestselling novelist who created Jack Reacher, discusses his move from TV redundancy to writing and why he handed Reacher to his brother Andrew. Conversations cover crafting a morally clear, uncomplicated hero, writing by instinct rather than plotting, adaptations from film to TV, and the long slow rise to worldwide success.
01:18:31
Franchise Handover Born From A Promise
- Lee Child decided to hand Jack Reacher to his brother Andrew to avoid declining quality as he aged.
- He tested this by choosing his brother because they share upbringing and sensibility, improving continuity.
Streaming Restores Novelistic Space
- Lee Child values long-form TV because it preserves narrative depth lost in films.
- Streaming lets authors keep slow scenes and full character development unlike feature films.
Redundancy Triggered A New Career
- After redundancy from Granada, Lee Child taught himself to write and wrote Killing Floor in five months.
- He started because he refused to work for someone else and knew how viewers respond to story.
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Intro
00:00 • 3min
Why Lee handed Reacher to his brother
02:32 • 5min
Introducing the idea to Andrew Child
07:09 • 2min
Child's upbringing and writing influences
08:57 • 3min
Studying law and its benefits
11:35 • 2min
Television era vs streaming dramas
13:52 • 3min
Redundancy at Granada that launched his career
17:06 • 6min
Finding an agent and selling Killing Floor
22:50 • 3min
Writing process for the first book
25:52 • 3min
Slow build to mainstream success
29:00 • 3min
Why he moved to the US
32:00 • 4min
Designing Reacher as an uncomplicated hero
35:58 • 3min
Ad break
39:11 • 26sec
Plotting method: panster not plotter
39:37 • 3min
Editing approach: single polished draft
43:05 • 3min
Money, deals and staying loyal to contracts
45:42 • 4min
Genre vs literary fiction and audience scale
50:06 • 4min
Why Reacher appeals strongly to women
54:13 • 4min
Film with Tom Cruise and move to TV
58:32 • 5min
Final co-authored books and full handover
01:03:47 • 7min
Outro
01:10:45 • 5min
#64805
One Shot
A Reacher Novel
Lee Child
In an Indiana city, a sniper fires six shots from a parking garage, killing five random victims and throwing the town into terror.
Police quickly arrest former Army sniper James Barr based on overwhelming evidence, but he insists they have the wrong man and demands Jack Reacher.
Reacher uncovers a frame-up orchestrated by a ruthless criminal mastermind, teaming with a defense lawyer to expose the truth and deliver justice.
#48545
No Plan B
A Jack Reacher Novel
Lee Child
Andrew Child
In Gerrardsville, Colorado, Jack Reacher sees a woman pushed under a bus and her death ruled a suicide, prompting him to investigate.
His probe reveals connections to another suspicious death, a private prison in Mississippi, an arsonist seeking revenge, a foster kid on the run, and a cabal of powerful conspirators.
Relentless as ever, Reacher teams up with the ex-wife of a victim to expose the far-reaching plot, delivering brutal justice along the way.
#341
• Mentioned in 80 episodes
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown
In 'The Da Vinci Code', Robert Langdon is called to the Louvre Museum in Paris after the murder of the curator, Jacques Saunière.
Along with French cryptologist Sophie Neveu, Langdon embarks on a perilous journey to decipher cryptic clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.
The plot revolves around an alternative religious history, suggesting that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene had a child, and their descendants are protected by the Priory of Sion.
The novel is a blend of relentless adventure, scholarly intrigue, and cutting wit, with numerous twists and turns that keep the reader engaged until the astonishing conclusion.
#18576
• Mentioned in 3 episodes
Killing floor
Lee Child
In 'Killing Floor,' Jack Reacher, a former major in the United States Army Military Police Corps, arrives in the fictional town of Margrave, Georgia, because he remembers that a blues musician named Blind Blake was interred there.
Shortly after his arrival, he is arrested in a local diner for murder.
As he fights to prove his innocence, Reacher learns the unidentified murder victim is his brother Joe, a Federal Government Agent working a case.
This novel sets the stage for Reacher's adventures as a drifter and investigator, showcasing his resourcefulness and determination.
#94
• Mentioned in 185 episodes
The Secret
Rhonda Byrne
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne introduces the concept of the law of attraction, which suggests that positive thoughts can attract positive outcomes in life.
The book outlines a three-step process: ask, believe, and receive.
Byrne emphasizes the importance of gratitude, visualization, and maintaining a positive mindset to achieve one's desires.
The book covers various areas such as prosperity, relationships, health, and happiness, and includes examples and quotes from historical and modern-day teachers who have allegedly used this principle to achieve their goals.
#2269
• Mentioned in 20 episodes
Brideshead revisited
Evelyn Waugh
Published in 1945, 'Brideshead Revisited' is a satirical novel by Evelyn Waugh that chronicles the lives of the aristocratic Flyte family from the 1920s through to the Second World War. The story is narrated by Captain Charles Ryder, who forms a deep friendship with Sebastian Flyte at Oxford University.
The novel delves into the complexities of relationships, the pervasive influence of the Catholic Church on the Flyte family, and the gradual decay of the aristocratic way of life.
It explores themes of faith, love, and the search for meaning in a world undergoing significant change.
Waugh's work is noted for its elegant prose, witty dialogue, and a profound exploration of the human condition.
#15074
• Mentioned in 3 episodes
The Sentinel State
Surveillance and the Survival of Dictatorship in China
Pemingxin
Pemingxin's "The Sentinel State" delves into the intricate web of surveillance and control mechanisms employed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to maintain its grip on power.
The book examines the evolution of these systems, from traditional grassroots methods to sophisticated technological tools, and analyzes their impact on Chinese society.
It explores how the CCP leverages surveillance to identify and suppress dissent, manage social stability, and ultimately ensure the survival of its authoritarian regime.
The author provides a comprehensive overview of the CCP's surveillance apparatus, highlighting its reach and effectiveness in controlling information and shaping public opinion.
The book also discusses the implications of this pervasive surveillance for individual freedoms and human rights in China.
Simon and Rachel speak with the novelist Lee Child, one of the world’s leading thriller writers. Lee - real name James Grant - was born in Coventry in 1954, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in the United States. He began his writing career after he was made redundant from Granada Television in the 1990s. Today the novels featuring his hero, former military policeman Jack Reacher, consistently achieve the number-one slot on bestseller lists around the world and have sold over 100m copies. Lee is the recipient of many awards, most recently Author of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2019. We spoke to him about starting the Jack Reacher novels after losing his job in television, film and TV adaptations from Tom Cruise and Amazon, and handing the franchise over to his brother Andrew.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lee-child-author-jack-wyoming-ranch-country-fg3tddwxw
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/my-childhood-cold-war-fears-are-back/
This episode of Always Take Notes is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Go to www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more about their creative writing courses. Use code ATN20 for £20 off the full price of any four-, five, six- or ten-week online course.
You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.
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