Patricia Highsmith

Patricia Highsmith (Mary Patricia Plangman, January 19, 1921, Fort Worth, Texas - February 4, 1995, Locarno, Switzerland) was a famous American novelist. for his suspenseful works.

Biography

His parents, Jay Bernard Plangman and Mary Coates, divorced before he was born. For this reason, he did not meet his father until he was twelve years old. During the early years of her life, she was raised by her maternal grandmother, Willi Mae, in Texas.

In 1924 her mother married Stanley Highsmith, from whom Patricia took the last name. In 1927 she went to live with them in New York, where they worked as graphic designers. Patricia always had a complicated relationship with them. As she confessed, her mother tried to abort it by drinking turpentine during her pregnancy.Highsmith never got over this love-hate relationship with her mother. So much so that she inspired him to write & # 34;The Terrapin, & # 34; in which a young man stabs his mother.

She was a voracious reader. She was interested in themes related to guilt, lies and crime, which later became central themes in her work. At the age of eight she discovered Karl Menninger's book The Human Mind and was fascinated by the cases she described of patients afflicted with mental illness. This author's analyzes of abnormal behavior influenced literary characters' perception of it. She had an early vocation for writing and in 1935 she wrote her first story, which has not survived. She began writing thick volumes from the age of 16 until her death with ideas for stories and novels, as well as diaries. All this material is kept in the Swiss Literary Archives in Bern.

He graduated in 1942 from Barnard College, where he studied English, Latin, and Greek literature. While living in New York City and Mexico from 1942 to 1948, before publishing his first short stories, Highsmith wrote for comic book publishers She started at Ned Pines publishing house writing two comic stories a day for $55 a week before moving on to a stint as a freelance writer, a situation that allowed her to find time to work on her own short stories. The job of writing comics was the only long-term job Highsmith had. In 1943 he began working for the Fawcett publishing house doing comic book synopses and at that time he discovered his homosexuality, a subject that he would deal with later when in 1952 he appeared under the title Claire Morgan's pseudonym for her novel The Price of Salt. It deals with the problematic love story between two women, with an unusual happy ending for the time. Some three decades later she reprinted it under the title Carol and discovering that she was the true author of it, revealing in her afterword the understandable reasons for her initial anonymity. She ended with these words: "I'm glad to think that this book gave thousands of lonely and scared people something to lean on."

At the age of 22 he began writing his first novel The click of the shutting, never published. In 1945, after a brief five-month stay in Mexico, the short stories En la Plaza, written in Taxco, state of Guerrero, and El coche. He published his first story at age 24 in Harper's Bazaar magazine. In 1950 he published his first novel, Strangers on a Train, for which he rose to fame a year later with the adaptation to the cinema by Alfred Hitchcock.

The pessimism of his stories, his exclusion of all sentimentality and the materialistic cruelty of his ethical analyzes were poorly received in the United States, but not in Europe, and since his political ideas of communist bias ran counter to the American way of life, he left the New World and moved to Europe forever in 1963. He lived in East Anglia (UK) and France, spending his last years in Tegna west of Locarno (Switzerland), where passed away.

Personal life

According to her biography, Beautiful Shadow, her personal life was problematic, partly due to her alcoholism; he never had a romantic relationship that lasted more than a few years, not even with fellow novelist Marijane Meaker, and was criticized by some of his contemporaries for misanthropy, to which there is some truth. He preferred the company of his many cats and snails and once said, "My imagination works much better when I don't have to talk to people." She has also been accused of misogyny for her Little Tales of Misogyny and anti-Americanism for her Tales of Natural and Unnatural Catastrophes; the truth is that her fame as a morbid writer did not make her especially salable in the United States. Highsmith frequently found inspiration in art, clinical psychology, and the animal kingdom.

Wrote more than 30 books including novels, eight collections of short stories, including Little Tales of Misogyny, Crimes bestiales and the Tales of Natural and Unnatural Catastrophes (Catástrofes, 1987), essays and other texts, and left much unpublished material.

Work

The theme of Patricia Highsmith's work is centered around guilt, lies and crime, and her characters, very well characterized, tend to be close to psychopathy and move on the very border between good and bad. the evil. This is very noticeable in her first published novel of hers, Strangers on a Train (1950), which was made into a film a year later by Alfred Hitchcock with the same title and whose script was adapted by Raymond Chandler.

The vision of reality that emerges from his novels and stories is depressive, pessimistic and gloomy, as is his concept of the human being. Some of her novels include homosexual references; her novel Carol , which her publishers rejected for its lesbian theme, was published under the pseudonym Claire Morgan in 1953. and sold close to a million copies. In her last published novel of hers, Small g, a summer idyll (posthumously one month after her death), the homosexual theme is dealt with again, this time around presenting a series of wrong relationships.

Highsmith, whose style is presented as economical as that of Guy de Maupassant, whom she admired, stands out especially as a creator of characters, especially marginal ones. She seeks controversy and is especially attracted to moral ambiguity: her heroes are usually shady and ambiguous characters who exploit social hypocrisy to climb socially. Her work consists of about twenty novels, a large number of stories and an essay, The art of suspense . Her friend Graham Greene said about her: "One does not stop rereading it." She has created an original, closed, irrational, oppressive world, where we only enter with a personal feeling of danger and almost despite ourselves, since we have before us a pleasure mixed with chills & # 34;.

Praised by critics as one of the best writers of her generation, for the psychological penetration she achieved in her characters and her complex and highly elaborate plots, she achieved international recognition that was passed on to the public.

Series "Ripley" (1955-1991)

A stay in Europe inspired the character of the amoral Tom Ripley, whose first appearance dates from 1955 with The talent of Mr. Ripley, written after the writer's first trip to the old continent, paid for by with the film rights to his first novel, the aforementioned Strangers on a Train.

With this first novel in Ripley's series, she won the Grand Prix for Crime Literature and was nominated for the Edgar Award for best novel, and was adapted to the cinema twice; the character will appear in four other novels and will become one of the most popular protagonists of crime novel series, although he is neither a detective nor a policeman, but a highly intelligent con man who impersonates his victims and an occasional thief and murderer; he does not submit to established morality and creates his own values. Contrary to usual, he is not punished or caught by the police and begins a great social ascent.

The novels

The character of Tom Ripley has starred in the following 5 novels over 36 years (1955-1991):

1. Mr's talent. Ripley / Full sun (The Talented Mr. Ripley, 1955)
2. The Ripley / Ripley mask underground (Ripley Under Ground1970)
3. Ripley Game / The American Friend (Ripley's Game1974)
4. After the Ripley steps / The boy who followed Ripley (The Boy Who Followed Ripley1980)
5. Ripley in danger (Ripley Under Water1991)

Actors who have played Tom Ripley

Numerous actors have played the role of Tom Ripley on film, television and radio:

• Alain Delon (Alain Delon)Full sunadaptation Mr's talent. Ripley, 1960)
• Dennis Hopper (The American friendadaptation The Ripley game, 1977)
• Matt Damon (Mr's talent. Ripley1999)
• John Malkovich (The Ripley game2002)
• Barry Pepper.Mr. Ripley returnadaptation Ripley's mask2005)
• Jonathan Kent (episode "Patricia Highsmith: A Gift for Murder" of the TV series "The South Bank Show", 1982)
• Ian Hart (on radio adaptation of the 5 books of the series, 2009)
• Andrew Scott (in the television series Ripley2021)

Published titles

Novels

• Strange on a train (Strangers on a Train1950)
• The price of salt / Carol. (The Price of Saltalso known as Carol.1952). Originally published with the pseudonym Claire Morgan and reissued with its name 37 years later (in 1989) with the title Carol..
• The knife (The Blunderer1954)
• Mr's talent. Ripley / Full sun (The Talented Mr. Ripley, 1955). 1.a novel by the series "Ripley"
• Deep sea (Deep Water1957)
• A game for the living (A Game for the Living1958)
• That sweet evil. (This Sweet Sickness, 1960)
• The two faces of January (The Two Faces of January1961)
• The scream of lettuce (The Cry of the Owl1962)
• The Crystal Cell (The Glass Cell1964)
• Imaginary crimes / The Cuentist (A Suspension of Mercyalso known as The Story-Teller1965)
• The Hidden Game (Those Who Walk Away, 1967)
• The tremor of the forgery (The Tremor of Forgery1969)
• The Ripley / Ripley mask underground (Ripley Under Ground1970). 2nd novel by the series "Ripley"
• Rescue for a dog (A Dog's Ransom, 1972)
• Ripley Game / The American Friend (Ripley's Game1974). 3rd novel of the series "Ripley"
• Edith's journal (Edith's Diary, 1977)
• After the Ripley steps / The boy who followed Ripley (The Boy Who Followed Ripley1980). 4th novel of the series "Ripley"
• People who knock at the door (People Who Knock on the Door1983)
• Elsie's spell (Found in the Street1987)
• Ripley in danger (Ripley Under Water1991). 5.a novel by the series "Ripley"
• Small g: a summer idyll (Small g: Summer Idyll1995)

Books of stories

• Eleven (Elevenalso known as The Snail-Watcher and Other Stories1970)
• Little misogynistic tales (Little Tales of Misogyny1974)
• Beast crimes (The Animal Lover's Book of Beastly Murder1975)
• At the mercy of the wind (Slowly, Slowly in the Wind1979)
• The black house (The Black House1981)
• Mermaids at the golf course (Mermaids on the Golf Course1985)
• Catastrophes (Tales of Natural and Unnatural Catastrophes1987)
• Exquisite bodies (1995, selection of accounts written between 1960 and 1990)
• Birds about to fly (1.a. part of Nothing That Meets the Eye: The Uncollected Stories2002 brings together accounts written between 1938 and 1949, published posthumously)
• A dangerous hobby (2nd part of Nothing That Meets the Eye: The Uncollected Stories2002 brings together accounts written between 1950 and 1970, published posthumously)

Miscellaneous

• Miranda the Panda Is on the Veranda (1958, co-written with Doris Sanders). Book for children, in verse and with drawings.
• Suspense (Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction1966). The author shows us the implications of the process of creating an intrigue novel.
• The fire of the enemy (unfinished relationship that was not published during the author ' s life, written during the last months of her life, 1995)

Awards

• 1946: O. Henry Award for Best First Story for "The Heroine", published in Harper's Bazaar.
• 1951: Nominated for the Edgar Award for the best first novel by Strange on a traingranted by the Association of American Mystery Writers.
• 1956: Nominated for the Edgar Award for Best News Mr's talent. Ripleygranted by the Association of American Mystery Writers.
• 1957: Grand Prix of Police Literature Mr's talent. Ripley.
• 1963: Nominated for the Edgar Award for the best account for "The Terrapin".
• 1964: Silver Dagger Award for the best foreign novel by The two faces of Januarygranted by the Association of Writers of the Crime of Great Britain.
• 1975: Black Humor Grand Prix for "Scargot Amateur".
• 1990: Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, granted by the Ministry of Culture of France.

Accommodations

Strangers on a Train (1950)

• Strange on a train or Sinister covenant (Strangers on a Train, 1951), American film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Raymond Chandler's adapted script and starring Farley Granger, Ruth Roman and Robert Walker.
• Don't kiss a stranger (Once You Kiss a Stranger, 1969), American film directed by Robert Sparr.
• Get Mom off the train. (Throw Momma from the Train, 1987), American film directed by Danny DeVito and starring Billy Crystal, Danny DeVito and Anne Ramsey. Free adaptation of history. Comedy.
• Strange on a train (Once You Meet a Stranger, 1996), American telefilm led by Tommy Lee Wallace and starred at Jacqueline Bisset. Female version of the novel.

"Ripley" Series

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955)

• Full sun (Plein Soleil, 1960), a French film directed by René Clément and starring Alain Delon (Tom Ripley), Maurice Ronet and Marie Laforêt.
• Mr's talent. Ripley (The Talented Mr. Ripley1999), American film directed by Anthony Minghella and starring Matt Damon (Tom Ripley), Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman. 5 Oscar Awards nominations in 2000.
• Ripley (Ripley2021), 1st season of the U.S. television series led by Steven Zaillian and starring Andrew Scott (Tom Ripley), produced by Showtime.

Ripley's Mask (1970)

• Mr. Ripley return (Ripley Under Ground, 2005), American film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starred at Barry Pepper (Tom Ripley), Jacinda Barrett, Tom Wilkinson and Willem Dafoe.

Ripley's Game (1974)

• The American friend (Der amerikanische Freund, 1977), German film directed by Wim Wenders and starring Dennis Hopper (Tom Ripley) and Bruno Ganz.
• The Ripley game (Ripley's Game, 2002), Italian-American film directed by Liliana Cavani and starring John Malkovich (Tom Ripley), Dougray Scott and Ray Winstone.

Other film adaptations

• Le Meurtrier (adaptation of The knife1963), French film directed by Claude Autant-Lara.
• Dites-lui que je l'aime (adaptation of That sweet evil., 1977), French film directed by Claude Miller and starring Gérard Depardieu and Miou-Miou.
• Die gläserne Zelle (adaptation of The Crystal Cell1979), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer in 1978. Nominated for the Oscar Award for the Best Foreign Film.
• Eaux profondes (adaptation of Deep sea, 1981), French film directed by Michel Deville and starring Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant.
• Ediths Tagebuch (adaptation of Edith's journal, 1983), German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer.
• Die zwei Gesichter des Januars (adaptation of The two faces of January1985), German film directed by Wolfgang Storch and Gabriele Zerhau.
• Le Cri du hibou (adaptation of The scream of lettuce, 1987), French film directed by Claude Chabrol and starring Mathilda May.
• Der Geschichtenerzähler (adaptation of Imaginary crimes, 1991), German film directed by Rainer Boldt.
• Trip nach Tunis (adaptation of The tremor of the forgery1993), German film directed by Peter Goedel.
• The Cry of the Owl (adaptation of The scream of lettuce, 2009), Franco-English film directed by Jamie Thraves and starring Julia Stiles.
• The Two Faces of January (adaptation of The two faces of January, 2014), American film directed by Hossein Amini.
• 'Carol. (adaptation of The price of saltalso known as Carol.2015), British-American film directed by Todd Haynes and starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. Perhaps one of the most successful adaptations, nominated for six Oscar Awards is considered a masterpiece of cinema.

Television and radio

• The exquisite bodies of Patricia Highsmith (Les Cadavres exquis de Patricia Highsmith / Patricia Highsmith's Tales), Franco-British television series of 12 episodes of one hour duration based on his stories of intrigue and emitted in 1990, produced by the French channel M6.
• Tiefe Wasser (adaptation of Deep sea), German telefilm led by Franz-Peter Wirth in 1983.
• Der Schrei der Eule (adaptation of The scream of lettuce), German telefilm led by Tom Toelle in 1987.
• The froçon du chien (adaptation of Rescue for a dog), French telefilm led by Peter Kassovitz in 1996.
• The American CBS chain adapted in 1956 for the "Studio One" program Mr's talent. Ripley.
• The English ITV chain adapted in 1982 for the program "The South Bank Show" the novel Ripley's mask in the episode "Patricia Highsmith: A Gift for Murder", played by Jonathan Kent (Tom Ripley).
• The Day of Reckoning (based on the homonymous account), chapter of the television series "Chillers", of Franco-English production, led by Samuel Fuller in 1990.
• British public broadcaster BBC Radio 4 adapted in 2009 the five books of the series "Ripley played by Ian Hart (Tom Ripley).
• The Spanish Radio 3 made an adaptation of the novel Strange on a train in autumn of 2010.