Patricia Highsmith

Description:

In this, the first full-length critical study of Patricia Highsmith's literary achievements, Russell Harrison offers a thoughtful consideration of the most successful and representative of the writer's works. In clear, accessible language Harrison argues that Highsmith's fiction demonstrates elements of existentialism as linked to Sartre and Camus — and, earlier, to Dostoyevsky and Gide — and reflects sociopolitical concerns, from the Cold War of the 1940s and 1950s through the politicization of the 1960s and 1970s to the gay and lesbian issues of the 1980s and 1990s. Discussed as well are Highsmith's depictions of interpersonal relationships, including families and extended families, and her emphasis on objects as a central aspect of her characters' lives. Separate chapters provide instructive biographical background, drawing on heretofore unpublished material made available by friends of Highsmith, and take up by turns the works of the 1950s and beyond, the political dimensions of the novels, the gay and lesbian works, and the short stories. (*from book jacket*)

subjects: Biography,  Criticism and interpretation,  Women and literature,  Detective and mystery stories,  Crime in literature,  Psychological fiction,  Existentialism in literature,  United States—History—20th century,  American—History and criticism,  Gay and Lesbian writers,  History and criticism,  American Psychological fiction,  American Detective and mystery stories,  History

People: Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995)

Places: United States,  Europe

Times: 20th century