<p>#Subscribe for free: robertmurphy.substack.com #</p><p>Journalist and crime author Andrew Wilson spent half a decade researching and writing Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith.</p><p>When she died, aged 74 in 1995, Highsmith left one of the world’s largest literary estates.</p><p>Inside her notebooks, or <em>cahiers</em>, Andrew found never-before-seen reminiscences of her many (and I mean <em>many</em>) love affairs, notes about the dark crimes which prompted her stories and people she had watched which inspired her characters.</p><p>Highsmith rarely sold more than 8,000 copies a year in the USA. She was far more celebrated in Europe, to where she moved in the 1970s.</p><p>But now, following the superb Netflix series <em>‘Ripley’</em> as well as the 1999 film <em>‘The Talented Mr Ripley,’</em> interest in Highsmith has never been higher.</p><p>Who was Patricia Highsmith? </p><p>A lesbian writer who wrote a queer classic yet was deeply misogynistic. A political liberal who held profoundly racist views. A writer of psychological thrillers who hated people.</p><p>And how did she manage to persuade quite so many married women into bed?</p><p>And what her fascination with snails? Why did she keep them in her bra?</p><p>Andrew Wilson describes all of this and about why he spent five years writing <em>‘Beautiful Shadow.’</em></p><p>You can find more about Andrew Wilson here: https://www.andrewwilsonauthor.co.uk/</p><p>Andrew’s Agatha Christie mysteries are available here: https://www.andrewwilsonauthor.co.uk/the-agatha-christie-mysteries</p><p>His new biography of Marilyn Monroe <em>I Wanna Be Loved By You</em> is here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wanna-Be-Loved-You-Marilyn-ebook/dp/B0FB496Q27/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0</p><p>In this episode we refer to Truman Capote. You can hear more about In Cold Blood here: </p><p>And Andrew talks about Highsmith’s interest in the Lord Lucan case. You can hear more about that here: </p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">robertmurphy.substack.com/subscribe</a>