2014 marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of Stephen King's first novel 'Carrie' in April 1974. Rescued from the rubbish by his wife Tabitha, the novel launched the Maine schoolteacher on a prolific and extraordinarily successful career. His name has become synonymous with horror and suspense through over 50 works. Paul Simpson traces the writer's life from his difficult childhood - his father went out to the shops and never came back - through his initial books under the pseudonym Richard Bachman to the success of 'Carrie', 'Salem's Lot' and 'The Shining' in the 1970s, and beyond.
