Patricia Highsmith

Patricia Highsmith (January 19, 1921 - February 4, 1995) was an American novelist who is known mainly for her psychological crime thrillers. She acquired world renown for Strangers on a Train, which has been adapted to the screen a number of times, most famously by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951.

Her character Tom Ripley became her most popular, a morally ambiguous bisexual thief and occasional murderer first introduced in The Talented Mr. Ripley[?]. This was filmed by René Clément in 1960 as Plein Soleil (Purple Noon), starring Alain Delon; inspired Wim Wenders' 1977 film The American Friend; and under the same title as the book by Anthony Minghella in 1999, starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Cate Blanchet.

Well-known works include:

• Strangers on a Train (1950)
• The Blunderer[?] (1954)
• The Talented Mr. Ripley[?] (1955)
• Deep Water[?] (1957)
• Ripley Under Ground[?] (1970)
• Ripley's Game[?] (1974)
• Edith's Diary[?] (1977)
• The Boy Who Followed Ripley[?] (1980)
• Ripley Underwater[?] (1991)