Robert Harris

Robert Dennis Harris is a British novelist whose works primarily span the genres of historical fiction and alternate history. His literary fame began with the publication of his debut work, Fatherland (1992), a reimagining of a world where Nazi Germany won the Second World War. The success of this book allowed Harris to leave his career in journalism to become a full-time novelist. His notable works have since explored various historical periods, from ancient Rome to the Cold War era.

Harris was born and raised in a council estate in Nottingham, England. His early exposure to the world of print through his father's work at a local printing plant ignited his ambition to write. He later attended Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he studied English literature and became president of the Cambridge Union.

After graduating, Harris began his career in journalism, working with the BBC on news programs like Panorama and Newsnight. By the age of 30, he had become the political editor of The Observer, followed by writing columns for The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph. These experiences in political journalism provided Harris with a wealth of material that would inform his later novels.

In 1994, Harris turned to fiction with Fatherland, a bestseller made into an HBO television movie. He followed this success with Enigma (1995), a novel about the efforts to break the German Enigma code during the Second World War. It was also made into a film starring Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet.

His next novel, Archangel (1998), explored contemporary Russia, following a historian's search for Stalin's secret notebook, and was later made into a BBC television film starring Daniel Craig.

In 2003, Harris shifted his focus to ancient history with the release of Pompeii, a novel centred on the Roman aqueduct system and the impending eruption of Mount Vesuvius. His interest in Roman history continued with the Cicero Trilogy, beginning with Imperium (2006), which depicted the life of the renowned Roman orator Cicero.

Harris's more recent novels have included An Officer and a Spy (2013), based on the real-life Dreyfus Affair, and The Second Sleep (2019), set in a dystopian future that mirrors medieval England.

His upcoming novel, Precipice (2024), is eagerly anticipated and is set to explore the eve of World War I through the eyes of a young British intelligence officer.

Robert Harris lives in Kintbury, near Hungerford in Berkshire, with his wife, Gill Hornby, a writer and sister of best-selling novelist Nick Hornby.