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"Grisham Spells Trouble for Harry Potter"Reuters, February 13, 2002 |
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Thriller writer John Grisham has broken Harry Potter's spell on Britain's bestseller charts, according to figures released on Wednesday.
Grisham last week topped both the hardback and paperback charts and occupied the first two places in the combined sales list, according to chart compiler Whitaker BookTrack. The U.S.-born former lawyer, whose courtroom dramas have sold millions around the world, knocked Harry Potter creator JK Rowling into third place. "The Summons," Grisham's first legal thriller in two years, shot to the top of the hardback list after its February 5 release. Set in Ford County, Mississippi, the backdrop to his first novel "A Time to Kill," the thriller centers on an old judge who summons his two sons to hear details of his will, but dies before he can explain their inheritance, leaving behind a dark secret. Meanwhile, Grisham's family drama "A Painted House," set in rural Arkansas, notched up a second week at the top of the paperback chart. Grisham's success spelt bad news for the fantasy novels which have dominated the charts since before Christmas. British author JRR Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy was the week's biggest faller, dropping 52 places to 84th. JK Rowling saw her "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" drop one place to third, while "The Prisoner of Azkaban" was a non-mover at four. Liverpool-born author Lyn Andrews scored one of the week's biggest successes with her Dublin-based romantic novel "The House on Lonely Street," up to fifth from 72nd. |
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