Patricia Highsmith

The Ripliad Series in Order

Novels by Patricia Highsmith

Collections by Patricia Highsmith

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Highsmith grew up in New York City and studied English composition, playwriting and short story prose at Barnard College. Her first novel Strangers on a Train was published in 1950, and Alfred Hitchcock’s film adaptation of the book the following year considerably enhanced Highsmith’s reputation. In 1952, she published her second novel The Price of Salt – which describes a lesbian relationship with a happy ending – under the nom de plume Claire Morgan. It became a bestseller and was later reissued as Carol (1990) under Highsmith’s own name.

In 1955, she published The Talented Mr Ripley – a novel about a charming, intelligent, insidious man who gets away with murder – which gained huge popularity and earned Highsmith Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière in 1957. It was followed by four sequels: Ripley Under Ground (1970), Ripley’s Game (1974), The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980) and Ripley Under Water (1991).

During her long career, Highsmith wrote twenty-two novels and nine short story collections. There have been dozens of film and television adaptations based on her work, and she remains one of the best-loved writers of psychological suspense.

Highsmith died in 1995 in Switzerland, where she spent the last fifteen years of her life. She was 74.