‘Carrie’, ‘Lolita’, ‘Da Vinci Code’ - books that reaped success, thanks to families of authors

Famous authors who wouldn’t be what they are if not for their families and life experiences.

Treat your extended family with respect, George Saunders will tell you. If not for his wife’s cousin, he would not have been this year’s Booker Prize winner.

Saunders and his wife Paula, also a writer, were in Washington DC many years ago, when Paula’s cousin pointed out a tomb to them. It was where Willie Lincoln, the son of President Abraham Lincoln, was interred for a few days in 1862, after his death from typhoid at the age of 11. Reportedly, a devastated Lincoln visited the crypt many times to hold his son’s body.

American short story writer George Saunders won the Man Booker prize in 2017 for his first full-length novel. (Image: Agencies)

Over two decades later, Saunders, 59, used the story as the basis for Lincoln in the Bardo, his poignant novel that quickly gained critical acclaim, including the Booker.

Here are some successful books that owed their origins or publication to the families of their authors.

Carrie by Stephen King

It was around 1974, and the 26-year-old aspiring novelist wasn’t optimistic about his nascent tale about a mysterious girl with menstrual phobia and telekinetic powers. He NBAed the pages into the bin. King’s wife Tabitha, an author herself, fished them out. In King’s words, she had “shaken the cigarette ashes off the crumpled balls of paper, smoothed them out, and sat down to read them”. Tabitha felt the story had promise and egged her husband on. The book attracted an astonishing bid of $400,000 and set the King juggernaut rolling.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

When he strode onto the stage at the NCPA in Mumbai a few years ago, the applause did not die soon. And somewhere, Brown would have thanked his parents. The codes and ciphers that characterised The Da Vinci Code — and many of his books — were a result of challenging childhood treasure hunts that his father Richard, a mathematics teacher, devised for Dan and his siblings. The children’s Christmas gifts too would be hidden around the house, and at times, at different locations in the town.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
According to The New Yorker, the marriage of the Nabokovs was Nabokovian. This could be interpreted as the relationship being strong yet moody and unconventional. Vera played a huge role in Nabokov’s career. She is said to have saved the manuscript of Lolita when Nabokov tried to burn it in his exasperation. She was also his typist, proofreader, editor, business manager and chauffeur. According to some accounts, she also cut his food into pieces. Nabokovian, you bet.

The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

Train delays can be life changing. In 1990, Rowling was waiting for her ride from Manchester to King’s Cross in London, when the idea of a boy who goes to a school of wizardry popped into her head. He would soon prove to be her real life saviour. In a nearly seven year period of misery, Rowling lost her mother, suffered a bad marriage and found herself broke and severely depressed. The experiences shaped her portrayal of Harry Potter and his world.