Episode 8.5: ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ by Patricia Highsmith
Donna Tartt herself cited Patricia Highsmith’s ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ as a book that was important to her when writing ‘The Secret HIstory’, and as that idea is the basis for this season, we had to give this one a whirl! There’s also been a recent Netflix mini-series adaptation so it’s a story that’s had a recent resurgence - it felt like time.
Tom Ripley is struggling to stay one step ahead of his creditors and the law, when an unexpected acquaintance offers him a free trip to Europe and a chance to start over.
Ripley wants money, success and the good life and he's willing to kill for it. When his new-found happiness is threatened, his response is as swift as it is shocking.
Both of us went into this novel blind with very little knowledge of the story or the characters, just the sense of the legacy of Highsmith as an acclaimed author. How clearly will we be able to see the influences in ‘The Secret History’?
In this episode we discuss:
The wealth, class, and luck of Americans travelling in Europe in the ‘50s
The sense of place and setting that elicits a light academia vibe
The prominent discussion around Ripley’s sexuality
You can listen to it here:
TEXTS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ by Patricia Highsmith
‘The Secret History’ by Donna Tartt
‘Brideshead Revisited’ by Evelyn Waugh
‘The Ruins’ by Phoebe Wynne
‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley
OTHER MEDIA AND POP CULTURE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
‘Good Will Hunting’ (1997) (check out our bonus episode on this movie here!)
‘Saltburn’ (2023) (we have a bonus episode on this too!)
‘Ripley’ (2024)
‘Team America: World Police’ (2004)
If you fancy taking a chance on ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’, we’d love it if you considered using our bookshop.org link below to purchase your copy of the book which helps us fund ‘The Dark Academicals’ and gives back to independent bookshops at no extra cost to you.
You can also sign up to The Dark Academicals Book Club mailer for exclusive book club content, extra episodes and author interviews!
