John Ray Grisham Jr. is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, best known for his legal thrillers.
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Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University and earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981.
He practised criminal law for about a decade and served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1983 to 1990.
Why did John Grisham quit being a lawyer?
Grisham took three years to write his first novel, A Time to Kill (1989; film 1996). The book was about the legal, social, and moral repercussions when a Mississippi Black man is tried for the murder of two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter.
Despite getting good reviews for its skillfully crafted dialogue and sense of place, A Time to Kill failed to sell.
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Grisham then vowed to “break the bank” with his next novel, The Firm (1991; film 1993, TV series 2012), about a law school graduate who is seduced into joining a Memphis law firm that turns out to be a front for the Mafia.
The selling of the film rights prompted a bidding war for publishing rights, and within weeks of the book’s release, it appeared on The New York Times best-seller list, where it stayed for nearly a year.
The money recouped from the book afforded Grisham the opportunity to give up his law practice and move with his family to a farm in Oxford, Mississippi.
Where is John Grisham now?
Presently, Grisham and his wife, Renee Jones, keep homes in Oxford, Mississippi and near Charlottesville, Virginia.
Aside writing, Grisham is a generous supporter of Little League teams in Oxford and Charlottesville and has endowed a writing scholarship at the University of Mississippi.
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