Highsmith, Patricia (1921-1995), was an American writer known for her crime and suspense novels and short stories. Highsmith’s novels reflect a psychological depth unusual in crime fiction. Many of her stories deal with the themes of guilt and the conflict between good and evil. Her works often center on a complex relationship between two men. She wrote in a dispassionate style that refused to judge the acts of her villains, sometimes portraying them in an almost sympathetic light.
Highsmith gained immediate recognition with her first novel, Strangers on a Train (1950). The plot deals with two men who meet on a train. Each man agrees to murder a person the other man hates. Highsmith also became known for a series of novels about a charming but evil young American named Tom Ripley. She introduced the character in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955). He also appears in the novels Ripley Under Ground (1970), Ripley’s Game (1974), The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980), and Ripley Under Water (1991). Several of Highsmith’s novels became successful motion pictures, which include Strangers on a Train (1951), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999).
Among Highsmith’s other novels are Deep Water (1957), The Tremor of Forgery (1969), A Dog’s Ransom (1972), and Found in the Street (1986). Her many short stories were collected in The Selected Stories of Patricia Highsmith (2001). She also wrote children’s literature.
Mary Patricia Plangman was born on Jan. 19, 1921, in Fort Worth, Texas. She eventually took her stepfather’s last name, Highsmith. She graduated from Barnard College in 1942 and lived most of her adult life in Europe. Highsmith’s reputation as a writer was much higher there than in the United States. European critics considered Highsmith a gifted novelist beyond the crime and suspense form. Highsmith died on Feb. 4, 1995.
