Ludlum, Robert (1927-2001), was an American author of novels of suspense and intrigue. His stories typically involve espionage, terrorism, conspiracies, and corruption at high government or international levels. Although many critics have attacked Ludlum’s writing style as crude, his fast-paced plots have been generally admired.
Ludlum was born in New York City on May 25, 1927. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1951. He was an actor on the stage and on television from 1952 to 1960, when he became a theater producer. Ludlum did not devote himself to writing until the age of 42, when he published his first novel, The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971).
Ludlum wrote a trilogy of novels about a spy named Jason Bourne—The Bourne Identity (1980), The Bourne Supremacy (1986), and The Bourne Ultimatum (1990). These novels were adapted into internationally popular motion pictures. The Bourne series was continued after Ludlum’s death by the American author Eric Van Lustbader.
Ludlum’s other novels include The Osterman Weekend (1972), The Matlock Paper (1973), The Rhinemann Exchange (1974), The Gemini Contenders (1976), The Chancellor Manuscript (1977), The Holcroft Covenant (1978), The Parsifal Mosaic (1982), The Aquitane Progression (1984), The Icarus Agenda (1988), The Scorpio Illusion (1993), The Apocalypse Watch (1995), The Matarese Countdown (1997), The Prometheus Deception (2000), and The Sigma Protocol (2001). Ludlum also wrote the suspense novels Trevayne (1973) and The Cry of the Halidon (1974) under the name Jonathan Ryder. Although most of his fiction is serious in tone, Ludlum wrote two comic suspense novels featuring heroes named the Hawk and Sam: The Road to Gandalfo (1975) and The Road to Omaha (1992). Two of Ludlum’s novels were published after his death, The Janson Directive (2002) and The Tristan Betrayal (2003). Ludlum died on March 12, 2001.
