The Books
J.K. Rowling wrote a series of detective books, under a pseudonym – Robert Galbraith, but of course in this day and age it’s difficult to keep a secret and it wasn’t long before people realised the identity of the true author. The books went on to critical acclaim, making the best-sellers lists.
The debut book is called Cuckoo’s Calling, followed by The Silkworm and then Career Of Evil. Rowling has recently been teasing her fans over the name of her fourth book in the series, with one person guessing the name correctly as Lethal White. It is believed that she is planning at least six more books in the series.
On her website for the books she explains why she wanted to write under a pseudonym: “To begin with I was yearning to go back to the beginning of a writing career in this new genre, to work without hype or expectation and to receive totally unvarnished feedback. It was a fantastic experience and I only wish it could have gone on a little longer than it did. I was grateful at the time for all the feedback from publishers and readers, and for some great reviews. Being Robert Galbraith was all about the work, which is my favourite part of being a writer. Now my cover has been blown, I plan to continue to write as Robert to keep the distinction from other writing and because I rather enjoy having another persona.”
The books are set in London, and centre around Cormoran Strike, who is a war veteran with a life in disarray, he is wounded both physically and psychologically. In the first book working as a private detective on the case of a death of a model, gives him a financial lifeline, but potentially puts him in incredible danger. Strike ends up with an assistant – Robin, literally by accident, but she is keen to find herself working for a private detective and so perseveres, even though she finds Strike to be rather unsympathetic and even unattractive – but she grows to admire his intelligence and work ethics. From Strike’s perspective whilst he might find her sexy, he is determined not to become overly reliant or fond of her.
The TV Show
In September 2016, the BBC announced that they had bought the rights to produce a television series based on the three novels. It is thought that they might air in August 2017. It would seem that the first book will be covered by three episodes and the second and third book will get two hour long episodes each. Whilst J.K Rowling is executive producer for the series, she will not be the screenwriter like she was for the Fantastic Beasts franchise, instead the first 5 episodes will be written by Ben Richards who wrote Spooks, and the script writer for the last two episodes will be Tom Edge who wrote Lovesick for Netflix.
The Cast
Tom Burke has been cast as the military policeman turned private eye Cormoran Strike and Holliday Grainger plays his sidekick Robin Ellacott. Tom said “I’m overjoyed to be immersing myself in the role of Cormoran Strike, who is as complex as he is larger than life.” Rowling said “I’m thrilled about the casting of Tom Burke, a massively talented actor who’ll bring the character to perfect life.”
You may have seen Holliday in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Bonnie & Clyde and Jane Eyre. Holliday said “I’m thrilled to be joining the talented creative team behind The Strike Series, especially with the role of Robin Ellacott. Her grounded strength and intelligence is going to be a joy to explore. I can’t wait to dive straight into the wit and grit of Strike’s cannily well observed London.” Rowling said “I couldn’t be more delighted about the casting of Holliday Grainger, who brought my Robin to perfect onscreen life during her audition. We’ve now secured two superb actors in the lead roles and I think they will create something very special together.”
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