Best-selling author Jean Hanff Korelitz has seen a slow but steady rise in popularity with several of her novels now adapted to film and television. She has found the most success with her seventh novel, “The Plot,” which she wrote at a fever pitch over the course of four months during the lockdown of 2020.
At the time, she was struggling with structural difficulties while writing what became her most recent novel, “The Latecomer.” Encouraged by her editor to focus on her idea for “The Plot,” Korelitz churned out a literary thriller full of twists and turns about a writing teacher who steals a story idea from a former student. It explores the idea of who has the right to tell another person’s story and the blurry lines regarding the theft of a concept.
“To plagiarize language is to be boiled in oil as far as I’m concerned,” Korelitz said in an interview with The Guardian. “But there’s a murkier thing when it comes to the story. It is really hard to figure out where the lines are. Imagination is such a mushy business.”
In addition to “The Plot” and “The Latecomer,” Korelitz’s other novels include “A Jury of Her Peers,” “The Sabbathday River,” “The White Rose,” “Admission,” “You Should Have Known,” and “The Devil and Webster.”
“A Jury of Her Peers” and “The Sabbathday River” are both legal thrillers, whereas “The White Rose” is closer to a lighthearted comedy.
“Admission” chronicles the life and struggle of a Princeton University admissions officer and was adapted to a film of the same name starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd. “You Should Have Known” tells the story of a New York therapist who discovers her husband’s secret – and possibly murderous – life and was adapted to the HBO series “The Undoing” starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant.
“The Devil and Webster,” a satire, follows the president of Webster College as she deals with the conflicting demands of the students and the institution.
“Latecomer” finds readers enthralled with the wealthy and deeply flawed New York-based Oppenheimer family. In February 2022, it was reported that the novel would be adapted into a television series.