Talented Mr Ripley - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0349006962 ISBN 13: 9780349006963

Publisher: Virago (4 Jun. 2015), 1600

Synopsis

Since his debut in 1955, Tom Ripley has evolved into the ultimate bad boy sociopath, influencing countless novelists and filmmakers. In this first novel, we are introduced to suave, handsome Tom Ripley: a young striver, newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan in the 1950s. A product of a broken home, branded a "sissy" by his dismissive Aunt Dottie, Ripley becomes enamored of the moneyed world of his new friend, Dickie Greenleaf. This fondness turns obsessive when Ripley is sent to Italy to bring back his libertine pal but grows enraged by Dickie's ambivalent feelings for Marge, a charming American dilettante. A dark reworking of Henry James's The Ambassadors, The Talented Mr. Ripley—is up to his tricks in a 90s film and also Rene Clement's 60s film, "Purple Noon."

About this title

About the Author

Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and moved to New York when she was six, where she attended the Julia Richman High School and Barnard College. In her senior year she edited the college magazine, having decided at the age of sixteen to become a writer. Her first novel, Strangers on a Train, was made into a classic film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951. The Talented Mr Ripley, published in 1955, introduced the fascinating anti-hero Tom Ripley, and was made into an Oscar-winning film in 1999 by Anthony Minghella. Graham Greene called Patricia Highsmith 'the poet of apprehension', saying that she 'created a world of her own - a world claustrophobic and irrational which we enter each time with a sense of personal danger' and The Times named her no.1 in their list of the greatest ever crime writers. Patricia Highsmith died in Locarno, Switzerland, in February 1995. Her last novel, Small g: A Summer Idyll, was published posthumously, the same year.

Review

The Italian coastal scenes, beautiful cast and sense of summer languor that disguises evil impulses make this a disturbing but gorgeous read. -- Joanna Briscoe * Independent * I love [Highsmith] so much . . . what a revelation her writing was -- Gillian Flynn * Wall Street Journal * Ripley - amoral, hedonistic and charming - is a genuinely original creation. It is hard to imagine anyone interested in modern fiction who has not read the Ripley novels * Daily Telegraph * An outstanding thriller which has deservedly become a classic * The Times * I'm a huge Highsmith fan. If there's one book I wish I'd written, it's The Talented Mr Ripley * Sarah Waters * I love that [Highsmith] makes this sociopath so completely charming that you're rooting for him -- Gillian Flynn - 'My Top 5 thrillers' * Mail on Sunday * The Italian coastal scenes, beautiful cast and sense of summer languor that disguises evil impulses make this a disturbing but gorgeous read. * Independent *

Edition details

• Publisher: Virago (4 Jun. 2015)
• Publication date: 1600
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0349006962
• ISBN 13: 9780349006963
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352