The Talented Mr. Ripley

The Talented Mr. Ripley is a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. The novel introduced the character of con man Tom Ripley, whom Highsmith wrote about in four subsequent books. Its numerous film and television adaptations include Purple Noon (1960), starring Alain Delon, The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), starring Matt Damon, and the 2024 series Ripley, starring Andrew Scott.

Plot

Tom Ripley is a young man struggling to make a living in New York City by any and all means, including a series of small-time confidence scams. One day, he is approached by shipping magnate Herbert Greenleaf to travel to "Mongibello" (based on the resort town Positano), in Italy, to persuade Greenleaf's errant son, Dickie, to return to the United States and join the family business. Ripley agrees, exaggerating his friendship with Dickie, a half-remembered acquaintance, to gain the elder Greenleaf's trust.

Shortly after his arrival in Italy, Ripley contrives to meet Dickie and his friend, Marge Sherwood. Dickie allows Ripley to stay with him in his summer home. As the two men spend more time together, Marge feels left out. Soon after Ripley arrives, Freddie Miles, a school friend of Dickie's, visits the summer home. Ripley immediately dislikes Freddie. Dickie, concerned about Marge's feelings, becomes more attentive to her, and allows the relationship to become romantic. Ripley, nursing feelings of jealousy, dresses up in Dickie's clothing and practices his mannerisms. Dickie walks in on him and reacts with shock and confusion.

Ripley senses that Dickie has begun to tire of him, resenting his constant presence and growing personal dependence. Ripley has indeed become obsessed with Dickie, which is further reinforced by his desire to imitate and maintain the wealthy lifestyle Dickie has afforded him. As a gesture to Ripley, Dickie agrees to travel with him on a short holiday to San Remo. Sensing that he is about to cut him loose, Ripley decides to murder Dickie and assume his identity. When the two set sail in a rented boat, Ripley beats him to death with an oar, dumps his anchor-weighted body into the water and scuttles the boat.

Ripley assumes Dickie's identity, living off the latter's trust fund and forging communications to Marge to assure her that Dickie has dumped her. Ripley forges checks and changes his appearance to better resemble Dickie to continue the lavish lifestyle he has enjoyed. Freddie encounters Ripley at what he supposes to be Dickie's apartment in Rome and soon suspects something is wrong. When Freddie finally confronts him, Ripley kills him with a heavy glass ashtray in the apartment. He later disposes of the body on the outskirts of Rome, attempting to make the police believe that Freddie was killed in a robbery.

Ripley enters a cat-and-mouse game with the Italian police but manages to keep himself safe by restoring his own identity and moving to Venice. In succession, Marge, Dickie's father, and an American private detective confront Ripley, who suggests to them that Dickie was depressed and may have committed suicide. Marge stays for a while at Ripley's rented house in Venice. When she discovers Dickie's rings in Ripley's possession, she seems to be on the verge of realizing the truth. Panicked, Ripley contemplates murdering Marge, but she is saved when she says that if Dickie gave his rings to Ripley, then he probably meant to kill himself.

The story concludes with Ripley traveling to Greece and resigning himself to eventually getting caught. However, he discovers that the Greenleaf family has accepted that Dickie is dead and that they have transferred his inheritance to Ripley – in accordance with a will forged by Ripley on Dickie's typewriter. While the book ends with Ripley happily rich, it also suggests that he may forever be dogged by paranoia. In one of the final paragraphs, he nervously envisions a group of police officers waiting to arrest him, and Highsmith leaves her protagonist wondering, "...was he going to see policemen waiting for him on every pier that he ever approached?" However, Ripley quickly dismisses this and proceeds with his trip.

Reception

In 1956, the Mystery Writers of America nominated the novel for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel. In 1957, the novel won the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière as best international crime novel.

On 5 November 2019, the BBC listed The Talented Mr. Ripley on its list of the 100 most inspiring novels.

Adaptations

Television

• The novel was first adapted for a January 1956 episode of the anthology U.S. television series Studio One.
• Ripley, a series with Andrew Scott in the title role, started airing in April 2024. Announced in September 2019, it was originally intended for Showtime, which commissioned an eight-episode first season, to be written and directed by Steven Zaillian who had pitched the series to the network. However, the series was moved to Netflix in February 2023.

Film

• Plein Soleil (originally), also known as Purple Noon (1960), directed by René Clément, stars Alain Delon as Ripley and Maurice Ronet as Greenleaf.
• The 1999 film version, directed by Anthony Minghella, stars Matt Damon as Ripley, Jude Law as Dickie and Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge.
• The 2003 film The Room was written by Tommy Wiseau after seeing the 1999 film adaptation, based on his interpretation of himself as a real-life Dickie Greenleaf.
• The 2012 Indian Tamil language adaptation Naan is based on both the novel and its 1999 adaptation.

Radio

• The 2009 BBC Radio 4 adaptation of the Ripley novels stars Ian Hart as Ripley, Stephen Hogan as Dickie, and Barbara Barnes as Marge.

Audiobook

• In 2007, an unabridged audiobook was published, narrated by David Menkin.

Theatre

• In 2010, the novel was adapted into a stage production at Northampton's Royal Theatre starring Michelle Ryan.
• In 2025, Sydney Theatre Company will present an adaptation written by Joanna Murray-Smith, starring Will McDonald.

Fiction

• E. Lockheart's 2017 young adult novel Genuine Fraud is a retelling of the novel.

See also

The "Ripliad":

• Ripley Under Ground (1970)
• Ripley's Game (1974)
• The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980)
• Ripley Under Water (1991)

External links

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