Tales of Natural and Unnatural Catastrophes: A Virago Modern Classic

Patricia Highsmith

Mar 2014 · Hachette UK

About this ebook

BY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY, CAROL AND STRANGERS ON A TRAIN

'No one has created psychological suspense more densely and deliciously satisfying' VOGUE

'There's no one like Patricia Highsmith' TIME

'Master storyteller Highsmith offers an eerily up-to-date collection of modern horror tales' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Patricia Highsmith, an American who lived most of her life in Europe, was the author of such bestselling crime novels as Strangers on a Train, and The Talented Mr Ripley.

The stories collected here are classic Highsmith - eerie, prescient and chilling, catastrophes caused by human error and dark motives. Whether evoking the White House under siege by the homeless or a one-hundred and ninety-year-old woman perpetually near death and dimly glowing, each tale refuses to release you from its tense grip. The ten eerily up-to-date stories chronicle a world gone slightly mad; environmental degradation, apocalyptic disaster, political chaos, and religious conservatism are captured in incisive prose that leaves us haunted.

About the author

Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and moved to New York when she was six. In her senior year, she edited the college magazine, having decided at the age of sixteen to become a writer. Her first novel, Strangers on a Train (1950), was made into a classic film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951. The Talented Mr Ripley (1955), introduced the fascinating anti-hero Tom Ripley, and was made into an Oscar-winning film in 1999 by Anthony Minghella. Highsmith died in Locarno, Switzerland, in February 1995. Her last novel, Small g: A Summer Idyll, was published posthumously, the same year.