Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. xiii, 258 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

1. "Made famous by the great success of her psychological thrillers, The Talented Mr Ripley and Strangers on a Train, Patricia Highsmith is lauded as one of the most influential and celebrated modern writers. However, there has never been a clear picture of the woman behind the books. The relationship between Highsmith's lesbianism, her fraught personality - by parts self-destructive and malicious - and her fiction, has been largely avoided by biographers. She was openly homosexual and wrote the seminal lesbian love story, Carol. In modern times, she would be venerated as a radical exponent of the LGBT community. However, her status as an LGBT icon is undermined by the fact that she was excessively cruel and exploitative of her friends and lovers. In this new biography, Richard Bradford brings his sharp, incisive style to one of the great and most controversial writers of the twentieth century. He considers Highsmith's bestsellers in the context of her troubled personal life; her alcoholism, licentious sex life, racism, anti-Semitism, misogyny and abundant self-loathing."--Amazon.

Subject

1. Highsmith, Patricia, 1921-1995
2. 1900-1999
3. Women authors, American > 20th century > Biography
4. Authors, American > 20th century > Biography
5. Lesbians > United States > Biography
6. Lesbian authors > Biography
7. Suspense fiction > Authorship
8. Women authors, American
9. Lesbians
10. Lesbian authors
11. Authors, American
12. United States

Genre/Form

1. Biographies.

Contents

1. The beginning -- Barnard -- Boarding the train -- Yaddo and consequences -- Carol -- Ellen -- Ripley -- Marijane -- 'So much in love' -- Eccentricity -- France -- Animals and us -- 'It's good you never had children' -- Her last loves -- 'I'm sick of Jews!' -- Those who walk away.

Call number

1. JFE 21-3781

Bibliography (note)

1. Includes bibliographical resources (pages 245-246) and index.

Author

1. Bradford, Richard, 1957- author.

Title

1. Devils, lusts and strange desires : the life of Patricia Highsmith / Richard Bradford.

Publisher

1. London, UK ; New York : Bloomsbury Caravel, 2021.

Copyright date

1. ©2021

Type of content

1. text

Type of medium

1. unmediated

Type of carrier

1. volume

Bibliography

1. Includes bibliographical resources (pages 245-246) and index.

Chronological term

1. 1900-1999

ISBN

1. 9781448217908 (hardcover)
2. 1448217903 (hardcover)

Research call number

1. JFE 21-3781