HIGHSMITH, Patricia (1921-1995). The Talented Mr Ripley. New York: Coward-McCann, 1955.

Highsmith’s own copy: first edition in the original dust-jacket, inscribed: ‘This copy is mine. Pat Highsmith November 1955'. A classic thriller, it was adapted in 1960 for film as Plein Soleil. The movie starred Alain Delon and marked the debut of his illustrious acting career. A more recent 1999 film version saw an equally star-studded cast with Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Octavo. (Very light occasional finger-soiling.) Original black cloth, lettered in green on spine (wear to spine, nicks to edges, particularly corners, a few marks); original pictorial dust-jacket supplied from another copy (spine sunned, somewhat rubbed with some tears and chips). Provenance: author’s ownership inscription to front free endpaper.