The Runaway Jury
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The Runaway Jury is a legal/suspense novel written by American author John Grisham. The hardcover first edition was published by Doubleday Books in 1996 (ISBN 0385472943). Pearson ESL released the paperback edition in 2001 (ISBN 058243405X). The novel was published again in 2003 to coincide with the release of Runaway Jury, a movie adaptation of the novel. The third printing (ISBN 0440221471) bears a movie-themed cover, in place of the covers used on the first and second printings.
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Plot teaser
'The Trial of the Century' - this term has been bandied about in reference to many legal proceedings over the years, but in the world of Grisham's The Runaway Jury, it seems to fit. Celeste Wood, widower, is suing a major tobacco company for sending her husband to an early grave. Many lawsuits have been brought to bear against the tobacco companies over the years, and all of them ended in victories for the defense. Wood's case could either break open the dam, unleashing a flood of claims against the tobacco companies, or it could seal the tobacco case for decades to come.
It is in this backdrop that fictional Biloxi, Mississippi resident Nicholas Easter enters the county courthouse to become potential juror number 56. His background will be carefully scutinized both sides of the case; including one Rankin Fitch, jury consultant for the defense. Fitch specializes in manufacturing jury verdicts by whatever means necessary, legal or otherwise. He came through for the defense on all of their previous victories; now he faces his greatest challenge yet.
The novel vs. the film
The film adaptation of The Runaway Jury, which drops the "The" and is simply titled Runaway Jury, makes one radical departure from the novel. Grisham's novel pits the defendant, Celeste Wood, against a large, fictional tobacco company on the grounds that the company's cigarettes sent her husband to a premature death. The scriptwriters substitute a major firearms manufacturer for the tobacco company and firearms for the cigarettes because the film The Insider was about tobacco companies. The circumstances surrounding the husband's death is the only other significant change from the book.
List of characters
- Nick Easter (John Cusack) - protagonist; juror
- Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman) - jury consultant for the defense
- Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman) - prosecuting attorney
- Durwood Cable (Bruce Davison) - defense attorney
- Celeste Wood (Joanna Going) - widower; plaintiff
- Marlee (Rachel Weisz) - Nick's girlfriend
- Herman Grimes (Gerry Bamman) - jury foreman
- Judge Harkin (Bruce McGill) - judge
Film credits
- Director - Gary Fleder
- Screenwriters - Brian Koppleman, David Levien, Rick Cleveland, Matthew Chapman
External links
- The book's official site (http://www.randomhouse.com/features/grisham/books/runawayjury/)
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| Preceded by: The Rainmaker | John Grisham Novels 1993 | Succeeded by: The Partner
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