The woman behind iconic thrillers: Patricia Highsmith and her acclaimed adaptations like Ripley

Tom Ripley - a name synonymous with charm, sex appeal, and murder, largely due to Matt Damon's iconic portrayal in the 1999 cult hit film The Talented Mr. Ripley. However, did you know that the origins of this compelling character date back to 1955, when Patricia Highsmith published her novel of the same name, the first of the acclaimed series?

Who was Patricia Highsmith?

Born in 1921 in Texas and died in 1995 in Switzerland, Highsmith lived for many years in New York City and the French countryside near Paris among other places. Her first book, "Strangers on a Train" (1950), was adapted into a successful Alfred Hitchcock film starring the strikingly handsome Farley Granger. "The Talented Mr. Ripley" with Matt Damon as Tom and Jude Law as Dickie, and Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge. Ripley proved such a compelling character that Highsmith wrote four additional novels featuring him. 

Another hit film, "Carol" (2015), starred Cate Blanchett and was based on Highsmith's lesbian novel "The Price of Salt," originally published under the pseudonym Claire Morgan in 1952 due to the repressive social climate of the time. This began the Eisenhower era, defined by rabid anti-Communism and Hollywood's strict Hays Code that censored topics like homosexuality from films and forbade married couples from being depicted in the same bed. "The Price of Salt" sold nearly a million copies in paperback, making Highsmith a sought-after figure in lesbian social circles of the era.

While perhaps not as widely known as some of her contemporaries, Highsmith established herself as a formidable author through an extensive bibliography that includes renowned works like Strangers on a Train and The Price of Salt. However, her most famous creation was undoubtedly Tom Ripley, the title character in her series that followed his terrifying acts - charming a rich man before murdering him and assuming his stolen identity. Highsmith's psychological thrillers could leave any reader unsettled, but it was her Ripley tales that would cement her legacy in the annals of crime fiction.

Highsmith's renowned Ripley series has finally aired on Netflix this month in a new adaptation simply titled Ripley. Centered on Tom Ripley, the story follows the wandering charlatan who is mistaken for the friend of wealthy playboy Dickie Greenleaf by his father. Sent to Italy on a mission to "retrieve" Dickie, Ripley becomes obsessed with him and his glamorous girlfriend Marge. In the climactic film scenes, tragedy inevitably strikes. Poised to captivate a new generation of viewers, this new adaptation is likely to create many more devoted fans of Highsmith's iconic creation.

Highsmith had some early jobs in advertising and as a comic book writer. During her comic book career, a coworker set her up on a blind date with Stan Lee from Marvel comics. The renowned author Truman Capote recommended Highsmith to attend the prestigious writers' retreat Yaddo in upstate New York. It was there that she began working on her debut novel Strangers on a Train. Published in 1950, the book was both a critical and commercial success. This led renowned filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock to adapt it into a famous Hollywood movie the following year. Her time at Yaddo provided Highsmith with the respite and creativity she needed to write her breakthrough first novel, which was quickly recognized for its quality and launched her writing career into prominence.

Unfortunately, Highsmith's prejudices only seemed to harden over time. Such attitudes cannot simply be dismissed or excused as products of a different era - they were equally abhorrent then too. She referred to the Holocaust in a despicably diminutive way, claiming its genocide had not gone far enough. Her views of other groups were just as repugnant. However, her books are lauded as superb examples of the suspense genre, blending ingenious plots with profound insights into the murky depths of the human psyche. Though her personal prejudices remain unacceptable, her talent for psychological thrillers is acknowledged to be without peer.