Robert Harris (novelist)
A master of the 'what if' historical thriller, he builds gripping narratives around pivotal moments, from Nazi victory to Cicero's Rome.
Born 1957 (age 69)·English novelist·Birthday: March 7·Baby Boomers
Biography
Robert Harris began as a sharp-eyed political journalist and broadcaster, covering the corridors of Westminster with a novelist's instinct for character and intrigue. He channeled that insider knowledge into his first fiction, 'Fatherland,' a chillingly plausible thriller set in a world where Nazi Germany won the war. The book was a global phenomenon, establishing his signature style: meticulously researched historical settings used as the engine for relentless, intelligent plots. He didn't stop with the 20th century; his 'Cicero Trilogy' ('Imperium,' 'Lustrum,' 'Dictator') plunged readers into the knife-fight politics of the late Roman Republic, making ancient power struggles feel as immediate as today's headlines. Harris possesses a rare ability to find the gripping human drama within vast historical events, whether it's the Dreyfus Affair in 'An Officer and a Spy' or the eruption of Pompeii. His novels are less about pageantry than about process—the mechanics of propaganda, the logistics of a coup, the quiet moments where history bends.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Robert was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Robert Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Robert's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- His debut novel 'Fatherland' became an international bestseller, defining the alternate-history thriller genre.
- Authored the acclaimed 'Cicero Trilogy' of historical novels chronicling the life of the Roman orator and statesman.
- Won the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for his novel 'The Second Sleep' in 2020.
- His novel 'An Officer and a Spy' won several awards and was adapted into a film by Roman Polanski.
Did You Know?
He was the BBC's reporter for the flagship news program 'Newsnight' in the 1980s.
He wrote a non-fiction book, 'Selling Hitler,' about the forged Hitler diaries scandal, before turning to fiction.
He is a former friend and biographer of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, though they later fell out.
Many of his novels, including 'The Ghost' and 'Enigma,' have been adapted into major motion pictures.
“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. But it's a country to which we are all bound.”
