Thomas Harris

Thomas Harris is an established American contemporary fiction writer. He is best known for creating one of the most notorious anti-heroes in American literature, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Harris was born on April 11, 1940, in Jackson, Tennessee, but grew up in Rich, Mississippi, as his family moved there. As a child, he was introverted and spent most of his time reading. However, in high school, he had grown out of the recluse phase. He studied at the same school his mother taught at, Clarksdale High School. 

His mother claimed that he was an avid reader and writer. He was highly inspired by Hemingway’s work. After graduating from high school, Harris opted to major in English at Baylor University in Waco and earned his degree in 1964. He served as a reporter for a local newspaper, the Waco Tribune-Herald. His job was to cover the police beat. However, he found the work dull and unappealing. He penned a number of gothic stories for magazines, such as Argosy and True.

Shortly, Harris got married to Harriet and had a daughter. However, things fell apart, and they got divorced in the 1960s. After graduation, he spent some time in Europe. Later he moved to New York City and began his writing career following crime beat in U. S and Mexico as a reporter and editor. He provided his services for the Associated Press. Being a crime reporter provided him with unique insight into the mind of criminals and their malevolent world. This new perspective of things facilitated him when he began working on his first novel.

Black Sunday marks Harris’ debut novel, published in 1975. The plot line involves a major terrorist attack at the Super Bowl. Although the book has an absorbing storyline, suspense, and psychological factor, it still borders on the stereotypical thrillers on the subject matter of terrorism. Critics are of the view that Harris tried to exploit the genre and the Israel-Palestine conflict by blaming Arabs as the terrorist group in his novel. Nonetheless, the novel became a bestseller and was adapted into a film.

Thomas Harris has a fetish for research. Consequently, his next work of fiction did not appear until 1981. His second novel Red Dragon denotes a different era of anti-heroes in literature as he created his own version of Frankenstein’s monster, named Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Hannibal is an exceptional psychiatrist with the downside of being a psychopathic serial killer. The story revolves around Will Graham, an adroit criminal profiler who once caught Hannibal but, after getting nearly killed, takes an early retirement.  

He has been approached by FBI agent, Jack Crawford, to help them catch a serial killer nicknamed “The Tooth Fairy.” The killer targets random families, and in order to stop him before he strikes again, Graham consults with the expert on the subject himself, Hannibal. The instant success of the first book paved the way for sequels in the Hannibal series. The second novel was published in 1988, entitled The Silence of the Lambs. 

In this book, FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling is introduced, who conducts a study on Hannibal Lecter at Jack Crawford’s request, though his real intention was to seek help on another case. The book earned huge praise and many accolades. In 1991, it was adapted into a major motion picture starring Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Lecter. The movie turned out to be a blockbuster attaining several Academy Awards. Other books in the series include Hannibal (1999) and Hannibal Rising (2006). Recently Harris wrote the screenplay for Hannibal's (2013) TV series that again succeeded in garnering positive reviews.