Author’s Papal Election Drama Takes Home Four BAFTAs

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Robert Harris attended Sunday’s ceremony with the cast and crew of “Conclave.”
A Berkshire author is celebrating after his book about a papal election, which has been adapted into a film, won four awards at the Bafta Film Awards.
“Conclave,” published in 2016 by Robert Harris, was released last year as a movie starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto and Isabella Rossellini. Directed by Edward Berger of Germany, it won four awards at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday night.
Harris lives near Hungerford in West Berkshire and said he wrote “Conclave” while working on another book. The idea for the story came to him when Pope Francis was elected in 2013.
“I thought there was something about the ancient rituals of the Catholic Church that seemed particularly dramatic,” Harris told BBC Radio 4’s Today.
Harris is a former political journalist who admits he wrote “Conclave” without any expectation that it would be made into a film. He jokingly says turning up at such events can make an author feel like a “drunken old uncle.” However, he added that the people behind “Conclave” were very nice and his experience was terrific.
“It’s great to emerge blinking from the world of writers into this showbiz world,” Harris explained. “It’s one of those moments where you realize how much fun it is.”
Harris praised the film as excellent: “I can say that dispassionately. I’ve had a few things made [from my work] that haven’t been very good, and this one is really good!”
When asked by host Nick Robinson if he would write about the Church of England in his next book, Harris said it wasn’t quite as intriguing to him: “It’s not got the oomph,” he observed. “Lambeth Palace is a very pleasant place but it’s not exactly like St Peter’s Basilica.”
He added that there was something particularly captivating about the rituals and dynamics of the Catholic Church: “The Sistine Chapel, for example, was built specifically for electing popes. They’re locked in there; it has an Agatha Christie-like room dynamic.”