Lee Child denounces PM hopeful as 'Boris Trump' as authors launch European tour

Lee Child has compared Boris Johnson to Donald Trump and weighed in on Brexit as he joins forces with Jojo Moyes, Kate Mosse and Ken Follett for a European tour this November.

Announcing the tour, the authors described their feelings of "embarrassment" and "powerlessness" over the EU referendum in 2016. British Book Award winner Child said “on a personal level I want to confirm I will always consider myself a proud European”.

Discussing the ongoing Conservative Party leadership contest with Johnson seemingly tipped for Number 10. "We have 'Boris Trump'," Child said. "I’m not looking forward to it all.”

The author, who lives in New York, added his protagonist Jack Reacher would have disapproved of Brexit. “Someone who has been in the military all his life knows how important international relations are… Reacher would have been the first to say ‘this is not sensible’.”  

Pledging their commitment to their European readers in light of Brexit, the 'Friendship Tour' will take in Milan, Madrid, Berlin and Paris, and is scheduled for November 2019 and is organised by industry figures such as PFD agent Caroline Michel and London-based Fane Productions. It will be funded by the authors' translation publishers. The tour was revealed at an announcement at the Foreign Press Association in London at The Clubhouse in St James' Square, London, on Tuesday (25th June) with three of the authors in attendence and Child participating through Skype and around 30 international journalists. 

Mosse, whose Languedoc Trilogy has been translated into 38 languages, added: “Our stories, are Europe's stories. Our history, is Europe's history. In these challenging days, it's up to writers to continue to celebrate what connects us, our shared values, our sense of belonging, the links that bind, the emotions we share and to say thank you to our wonderful readers all over Europe for keeping faith with us.”

With Britain expected to leave the EU on 31st October, Moyes said: "Those of us who have always considered ourselves European have watched horrified at the political machinations taking place to separate us. I can’t change those, but I can reaffirm my commitment to European readers, and my wish to keep the threads of friendship intact, and we all hope this is a good way of doing that."

Lee Child (photo credit: Sigrid Estrada), Kate Mosse (photo credit: Ruth Crafer), Ken Follett (photo credit: Olivier Favre), Jojo Moyes (photo credit: Stine Heilmann)

Follett, author of The Pillars of the Earth (Pan Macmillan), said: “We all have millions of readers in continental European countries, most of whom read us in their own languages, and we want to tell them how much we cherish them despite the impression that may have been given by recent political events in our country.” 

During the tour the authors will appear on stage together, talk about their work, and answer questions from the audience. 

Mosse also revealed how she believes that fiction has the ability to penetrate countries and cultures more powerfully than non-fiction and journalism. “Novels sneak under the radar," she said. "Sneak into the cracks of what we know and what we think we know.”

The author also discussed how important translated fiction is and while she conceded that levels had increased in recent years, Mosse urged for more. “I feel we should be translating more fiction so we can have more voices than we have at the moment. This is a real issue in publishing.”

James Albrecht of Fane Productions said: “In a climate of confusion and estrangement at home and across Europe, it has been a great privilege to work with four celebrated authors as well as publishers, venues and programmers across the continent on the Friendship Tour, with its positive message of connection and shared history.”

The tour will kick off at Teatro Carcano in Milan on 17th November as a headline event of the Book City Festival.