Talented Mr Ripley: A Virago Modern Classic

Description

Tom Ripley travels to Italy with a commission to coax a prodigal young American back to his wealthy father. But Ripley finds himself very fond of Dickie Greenleaf. He wants to be like him - exactly like him. Suave, agreeable and utterly amoral, Ripley will stop at nothing to accomplish his goal. The Talented Mr. Ripley serves as an unforgettable introduction to this smooth confidence man, whose talent for murder and self-invention is chronicled in four subsequent Ripley novels.

Reviews

The Italian coastal scenes, beautiful cast and sense of summer languor that disguises evil impulses make this a disturbing but gorgeous read. Independent 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 An outstanding thriller which has deservedly become a classic The Times 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 I love [Highsmith] so much ... what a revelation her writing was -- Gillian Flynn Wall Street Journal 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

Author description

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.