WRITER

Patricia Highsmith

1921 - 1995

Photo of Patricia Highsmith

Icon of person Patricia Highsmith

Patricia Highsmith (born Mary Patricia Plangman; January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character Tom Ripley. She wrote 22 novels and numerous short stories in a career spanning nearly five decades, and her work has led to more than two dozen film adaptations. Her writing was influenced by existentialist literature, and questioned notions of identity and popular morality. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Patricia Highsmith has received more than 3,140,407 page views. Her biography is available in 48 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 45 in 2019). Patricia Highsmith is the 495th most popular writer (up from 662nd in 2019), the 496th most popular biography from United States (up from 731st in 2019) and the 45th most popular American Writer.

Patricia Highsmith is most famous for her book "The Talented Mr. Ripley."

Memorability Metrics

  • 3.1M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 66.95

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 48

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 6.65

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.43

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Ripley under ground
1970
The talented Mr. Ripley
Criminals
1955
The blunderer
1954
The boy who followed Ripley
Fiction
Now part of American film and literary lore, Tom Ripley, "a bisexual psychopath and art forger who murders without remorse when his comforts are threatened" (), was Patricia Highsmith's favorite creation. In (1980), Highsmith explores Ripley's bizarrely paternal relationship with a troubled young runaway, whose abduction draws them into Berlin's seamy underworld. More than any other American literary character, Ripley provides "a lens to peer into the sinister machinations of human behavior" (John Freeman, ).
19803 / 5
This sweet sickness
Married women
This title is a creepy novel of obsession from Patricia Highsmith.
19603 / 5
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Criminals
1955

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Patricia Highsmith ranks 495 out of 7,302. Before her are Giorgos Seferis, Ilya Ehrenburg, Ludvig Holberg, Alessandro Manzoni, Eugene O'Neill, and Muhammad Iqbal. After her are George R. R. Martin, G. K. Chesterton, Christopher Marlowe, Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, Henri Barbusse, and Gérard de Nerval.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1921, Patricia Highsmith ranks 23. Before her are Hua Guofeng, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Joseph Beuys, Peter Ustinov, Gunnar Nordahl, and Paulo Freire. After her are Nancy Reagan, Yitzhak Navon, Satyajit Ray, Sugar Ray Robinson, Vasily Smyslov, and Rosalyn Sussman Yalow. Among people deceased in 1995, Patricia Highsmith ranks 16. Before her are Gunnar Nordahl, Konrad Zuse, Dean Martin, Harold Wilson, Anatoly Dyatlov, and Maurizio Gucci. After her are Hannes Alfvén, Teresa Teng, Gerald Durrell, Edward Bernays, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, and Lana Turner.

Others Born in 1921

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Others Deceased in 1995

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Patricia Highsmith ranks 496 out of 20,380. Before her are Dian Fossey (1932), Faye Dunaway (1941), Reese Witherspoon (1976), James Coburn (1928), Eugene O'Neill (1888), and Ray Kroc (1902). After her are George R. R. Martin (1948), Richard E. Byrd (1888), Francis Fukuyama (1952), Bill Murray (1950), Talia Shire (1946), and Richard Stallman (1953).

Others born in United States

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Among WRITERS In United States

Among writers born in United States, Patricia Highsmith ranks 45. Before her are Philip Roth (1933), Frank Herbert (1920), Kurt Vonnegut (1922), Susan Sontag (1933), Jack Kerouac (1922), and Eugene O'Neill (1888). After her are George R. R. Martin (1948), Robert A. Heinlein (1907), Tom Clancy (1947), Alvin Toffler (1928), Tennessee Williams (1911), and Richard Bach (1936).

American born Writers

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