The “difficult” 2006 novel Stephen King considers his greatest achievement
Stephen King has named his 2006 novel *Lisey's Story* as his favourite among his own works, a rare direct answer from an author with 64 novels and over 200 short stories to his name. He first gave this response during a 2023 Reddit Q&A promoting a TV adaptation of *Under the Dome*, and reaffirmed it in an Entertainment Weekly interview, describing the book as "difficult to love" but one he has always cherished.
The novel follows Lisey Landon, the widow of a famous author killed by an obsessed fan, as she confronts her late husband's dark family history. Its origins are deeply personal: King conceived the story in 2003 after a near-fatal battle with double pneumonia, drawing on the experience of returning home to find his wife, Tabitha, had reorganised his study in his absence. King held onto the adaptation rights for over a decade before allowing director Pablo Larraín to turn it into an Apple TV+ miniseries in 2021.
- King calls 2006's *Lisey's Story* his favourite of his own novels.
- The book was inspired by his own near-fatal 2003 illness.
- Pablo Larraín adapted it into an Apple TV+ miniseries in 2021.