REACHINGFORTHE STARS
96 | May• 2019
L
eeChildistrulyloved.Everyninesecondssomeone
buys one of his 23 novels featuring hero Jack
Reacher.Eachyear,millionsofhisfansclamourto
getholdofthelatestJackReacherthriller,released
annuallysinceKillingFloorwaspublishedin1997.
MusicgreatPaulMcCartney,writerMalcolmGladwell,actor
Gene Hackman and former US president Bill Clinton are
amonghisfans.ClintonevenwritesChildhandwrittennotes
abouthislatestReachernovelsandhasbeenknown to bug the
authorfornovel-writingadvicelateatnight.
offriends,”Childsays.“WhenI got
backI thoughtI shouldgotouniver-
sity.I pickedoneatrandom,called
andtheyhadavacancyinthelaw
departmentsoI thought,Yeah,I can
dothat.”
Despitecompletingthedegree
attheUniversityofSheffield,Child
hasneverpractisedasa law yerand
deliberatelystayedawayfromwrit-
inglegalthrillers,decidingearlyon
thatthemarketwasalreadycornered
withthelikesofJohnGrisham.
YetChildsayshedoesn’tregret
studyinglaw.“It’sagreatthingto
carrywithyouthroughlife,”hesays.
“Ifyouhavea disputewithanyone
youcansenseifit’sworthfighting
ornot.”
It’shisinnatesenseofjustice,while
havingtheknacktostayintouchwith
theaverageperson,whichmakes
Childsolikeableandappearstobe
oneofthereasonsbehindhisenor-
moussuccessasanauthor.
“I’m very happy in life because I’m
At 64,Lee Child isengaging.
Amenable.Hissandyblondhair,
piercingblueeyesandheightof
almosttwometresiseerilysimilar
tohisfamousfictionalcharacterJack
Reacher.ButwhileformerAmeri-
canmilitarypolicemanReacheris
muscularandweighsover 105 kilo-
grams,Childisthin.
Cladinhisstandardblackleather
jacketandbluejeans,Childseems
justthe rightamount ofhumble.
Goodlookingbut‘normal’.Charm-
ingwithoutbeingover-the-top.Not
atallwhatyou’dexpectfroma man
whohasareported networthof
US$50million, 24 best-sellingnov-
elspublishedin 49 languagesanda
billion-dollarbrandthat’ssoldmore
than 100 millionbooks.
BornJamesD.GrantinCoventry,
England,in1954,thewriter’sforma-
tiveyearswerespentinBirmingham.
“Ifinishedhighschoolandimme-
diatelywentona longhitch-hiking
trip around Europe with a bunch
