Thomas Harris 
Major Works
- Black Sunday 1975
- Red Dragon 1981
- The Silence of the Lambs 1988
- Hannibal 1999
- Hannibal Rising 2006
Photo by J. D. Schwalm
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Biography of
Thomas Harris
By Teal Waterstrat (SHS)
Thomas Harris, author of three national bestsellers, was born
in Jackson ,
Tennessee, but moved to Rich, Mississippi, with his parents,
William and Polly, early in his life. He attended Clarksdale
High School, where his mother taught biology. His mother reports
that he spent most of his time reading and writing, and that
Hemmingway was a favorite writer.
Not much information is available about the life of Harris,
but after high school, he went to Baylor University in Waco,
Texas, to earn a major in English. While in Waco he worked for
the Herald Tribune as a police reporter but found
it very unimaginative. While at Baylor, he wrote numerous stories
to magazines like True and Argosy
that were gothic and detailed.
During this time Harris met his wife Harriet and they had a
daughter named Anne before they divorced in the 60's. His father
died during this period of his life as well.
After college Harris moved to New York and held a job as editor
for the Associated Press in New York. His experiences as a crime
reporter gave him information he used in his later writings.
His first book, Black Sunday, is about Arab terrorist
and a Vietnam veteran who try to bomb the Super Bowl. Published
in 1975, the book became a best seller and a successful movie.
 Harris
does a lot of research for his fiction, so his second book Red
Dragon was not published until 1981. This novel is the
story of an FBI agent's search for a serial killer and contains
Harris's character psychotic psychiatrist Hannibal "The Cannibal"
Lecter. Red Dragon also became a popular movie
called Manhunter.
The third novel written by Harris is considered a masterpiece
of suspense by many people. The Silence of the Lambs
was published in 1988 and includes madmen and a strong-willed
female. The film made from the book won five Academy Awards.
Harris has homes in Rich, Mississippi; Long Island,
New York; and Miami, Florida. His mother, with whom he keeps
in close contact, says she likes his work and she is not frightened
by it! Harris closely guards his privacy.
Thomas Harris is known for his painstaking detail in his writing.
The detail is so vivid that the story almost seems to make pictures
in the mind of the reader. Because of his attention to detail,
Harris takes a long time to write his novels. 1999
Biography of Thomas Harris
by Joe Underwood
(SHS) 2001
 Finding
information about the author Thomas Harris is difficult. He
is like the uncatchable serial killer that he so vividly writes
about in his novels. As his novels progress, the reader becomes
more aware of who the killer is. Similarly, little by little
information about Harris has been revealed about his life, but
he tends to avoid the spotlight.
Thomas Harris was born in Jackson, Tennessee, to William and
Polly Harris but moved to Rich, Mississippi,
his father's hometown, early in his life. He attended Lula Rich
school through the tenth grade, at which time he transferred
to Cleveland High School in Cleveland, Mississippi.
It was not until the last semester of his senior year that he
transferred to Clarksdale High School, in Clarksdale,
Mississippi, where his mother taught biology.(Edwards).
After high school, Harris went to Baylor University in Waco,
Texas, where he pursued a major in English and worked as a reporter
for the News-Tribune. Also, while
attending Baylor, he met fellow student Harriet whom he married.
They had one daughter, Anne, before they divorced in the 1960s.
After graduating from college, Harris spent a brief period
traveling through Europe (Seibels) before landing a job as general
assignment reporter with the
New York Associated Press from 1968 to 1974. It was this job
that gave him his valuable insights into the world of crime.
From this experience came his first novel, Black
Sunday, in 1975. Black Sunday
is about an Arab terrorist and a crazed,Vietnam veteran who
try to bomb the Super Bowl. The success of the book and the
movie it was made into prompted Harris to become a full time
writer. Because Harris pays so much attention to detail, his
next book, Red Dragon, was not published
until 1981. This story introduces the character Hannibal Lecter
to whom many fans and web sites are devoted today. Red
Dragon was also made into a successful movie called
Manhunter.
The introduction of Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter
paved the way for what is Harris's great work The
Silence of the Lambs (Shirley 56). The
Silence of the Lambs, released in 1988, was a
huge success and prompted a movie which earned five Academy
Awards, including best actor (Anthony Hopkins), best actress
(Jodie Foster), best screenplay (Ted Tally), best director (Demme),
and best picture (Seibels). Silence of the Lambs
created a huge demand for a sequel, which came out in 1999 called
Hannibal. It is the continuing story
of Hannibal Lecter, who has escaped and is on the run again
with Clarice Starling once again on his heels. It also has been
made into a movie. Harris now has homes in Rich, Mississippi;
Long Island, New York; and Miami, Florida. His mother, with
whom he keeps in close contact and who still lives in Mississippi,
says she likes his work; and she is not frightened by it! Harris
closely guards his privacy.  2001
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UPDATE 2008: Thomas Harris's novel Hannibal
was published in the summer of 1999. Hannibal Rising
was published in 2006. All four of his novels have been made
into major motion pictures. In 2007 he won the
HWA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD at the World Horror Convention
in Toronto, Canada.
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A Review of The
Silence of the Lambs
by Teal Waterstrat (SHS)
Thomas Harris's third best-selling novel, The Silence
of the Lambs, is the chilling story of an insane murderer
and the people set on his capture. When the story opens, you
think that the killings are just randomly selected victims;
but as the book progresses, the killings turn into something
infinitely more horrible.
The FBI have been trying to track down the killer without any
luck until section chief Jack Crawford sends Starling, a trainee,
to question the imprisoned  psychologist,
Hannibal Lector. From the cryptic answers of Lector, Starling
is able to close in on the trail of the murderer. As Starling
chases down the killer, she weaves in and out of a host of characters
and her own haunted past. The support from her friends help
her through the horrific trials that Dr. Lector hinted at.
Dr. Lector changes his mood from an interested intellect to
that of an insane cannibal so quickly that it seems that there
really are two of him. He leaves one uncertain about what the
next turn may bring. The one thing you can count on is his desire
to be free. The Silence of the Lambs is a wonderfully
chilling book that makes you want to learn more about each of
the characters in the book. If reading is not one of your favorite
pastimes, then watch the movie, which follows the plot of the
novel exactly.
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Review of Hannibal
by Joe Underwood
(SHS)
Though not what I expected this book to be, Hannibal
is well worth reading, that is if you have lots of free time.
Critics are right when they say Thomas Harris goes into much
detail. In fact, that is basically what the whole first half
of the novel is, a whole lot of detail.
The story opens up where Silence of the Lambs
left off, with Clarice Starling still on the FBI and Hannibal
Lecter having escaped from his transport to a federal penitentiary
in Memphis, Tennessee. Clarice is having problems with the FBI
after a disastrous drug raid in which she ends up shooting a
woman, who was the head of the drug operation, carrying a child.
This causes a public outcry and, of course, the FBI needs someone
to blame the incident on. The the media have already formed
its own opinion of what has happened and runs stories calling
Clarice a killer, which prompts Lecter to write her a letter
to "keep in good spirits."
Now here is where the plot starts. One of Lecters' early victims,
Mason Verger, who somehow miraculously survived but is bed bound
for life and hideously disfigured, wants revenge. Since he is
a millionaire and has pull in Congress, he follows the continuing
search for Lecter through the FBI and is conducting a private
one of his own. Mason has put all kinds of rewards on Lecter
hoping somebody will find him. Mason's plan is to capture Lecter
and slowly torture him to death by having him eaten by a pack
of wild boars. Mason knows Clarice has had contact from Lecter
and hopes he can somehow lure Lecter out of hiding by using
her, so he uses his pull in Congress to drop her charges.
While Clarice is on the hunt for Lecter, an inspector in Florence,
Italy, named Rinaldo Pazzie discovers Lecter. Pazzie contacts
Verger and wants to collect the bounty.  Verger then sends over
a professional kidnapping team to capture Lecter alive. The
whole thing goes sour, and Hannibal ends up getting away and
Pazzie is killed. After his escape from capture in Florance,
Lecter heads back to the U.S. to go back into hiding. Mason
expects this move and uses his influence in the FBI to get Clarice
suspended. This event causes Lecter to come out of hiding to
try and make contact with Clarice; and when he does, Mason's
men capture him. To find out what happens next, you'll just
have to read the book.
All in all, Hannibal was a good book.
I had a little trouble getting into it, but once I had finished
about half the book, the action started to pick up a bit, and
it was harder to put the book down.
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Related
Websites
Randomhouse's
Official Web Site for Thomas Harris.
Find
more information about Thomas Harris on Ole Miss's Writers Page.
THOMAS
HARRIS WINS HWA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD at World Horror
Convention in Toronto Canada, in 2007.
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Bibliography
for Waterstrat "Biography of Thomas Harris"
"'Lambs' Harris Keeps Silent." Clarion
Ledger. February 24, 1991.
"Local Author's Book on Screen." Clarksdale Daily.
March 3, 1982.
"MS Writer Turns Simple Plot into Puzzler." January 2, 1983.
Mississippi Writers Directory and Literary Guide.
Center of Study of Southern Culture. University of Mississippi,
1995.
"Press Register Reviewers Praise Rich Man's First Book." Clarksdale
Daily. January 20, 1996.
The Silence of the Lambs. New York Times
Book Review. September 4, 1988.
"Writer Protects Privacy; Doesn't Grant Interviews"
Press Register. March 2, 1991.
Bibliography for Underwood "Biography of Thomas
Harris"
Edwards, Albert. "Reviewers praise Rich man's 1st book."
The Clarksdale Press Register. 20
January 1975: 2.
McShane, Larry. "Dr. Lecter returns, but his creator stays
away." The Commercial Dispatch.
7 June 1999: np.
O'Briant, Don. "'Lambs' Harris keeps silent." The
Clarion-Ledger. 24 February 1991: np.
Seibels, William T. "Thomas Harris." [Online] Available
at http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/harris_thomas/index.html.
June 7, 1999.
Shirley, Aleda. Susan M. Glisson and Ann J. Abadie . Mississippi
Writers. Oxford, Mississippi: The University of
Mississippi, 1995. 56.
Weatherly, Jack. "HCC official isn't 'silent' about friend."
Star-Herald. 23 April 1992: np.
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