James Patterson: His Life and Works: Author SnapShots, #1

By Daniel Fellows

James Patterson is the most widely read author in history. An estimated 1 in 17 hardcover novels sold in the U.S. is by James Patterson.

 

Read about his early years, his time in advertising and how he got into publishing and overcame all sorts of adversity to dominate the publishing arena.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daniel Fellows
• Release date: Jan 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215447789

Book preview

James Patterson His Life and Works

Daniel Fellows

Copyright © 2017 by Daniel Fellows

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Contents

1. BIOGRAPHY

2. JAMES PATTERSON AT THE MOVIES

3. BOOK LIST

4. BOOKSHOTS

5. MANGA, COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS

6. COLLABORATOR BIOGRAPHIES

THANK YOU

OTHER TITLES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BIOGRAPHY

Becoming a successful author is no small feat, but the extent at which James Patterson has achieved success in the publishing, film, and entrepreneur field is astounding. The bestselling author of over 120 books, Patterson has pushed the boundaries of success in all genres, specifically in the suspense and mystery genres.

James Brendan Patterson, the only boy in a family of four children, was born on March 22, 1947, in Newburgh, New York, to Charles and Isabelle Patterson. His father, an emotionally distant man, was an insurance salesclerk and his mother was a schoolteacher. When Patterson was two or three years old, an African American cook, who worked in a restaurant Patterson's grandparents owned, came to live with his family because she and her husband had been having marital problems. Patterson became very close to her and spent a great deal of time with her and her extended family. This relationship was very important to Patterson, and he used this relationship in a number of his novels. For example, Jimmy Horn's mother in The Thomas Berryman Number is an African American teacher, and his bestselling detective series, Alex Cross, features an African American protagonist.

While many authors have discussed reading as a form of their own development as writers, Patterson never sought the escapism that books offered and wasn't a voracious reader as a child. In later years, Patterson would describe himself as a reluctant reader. However, in his freshman year at Manhattan College, Patterson worked as as an aide at McLean Hospital, a well-regarded mental hospital that had many celebrities as patients over the years, including Sylvia Plath, Ray Charles, and David Foster Wallace, among others. While on night shifts Patterson developed his love for reading, but his chosen material was far removed from the suspenseful thrillers and action-packed stories he would eventually become famous for. Instead, he read a great deal of literary fiction such as Ulysses by James Joyce. While working there, Patterson developed a friendship with poet Robert Lowell, who would often read to the other patients. Lowell and Patterson would go on walks where he would explain his poems and why he wrote them. This was the impetus that