The Talented Mr. Ripley

The Talented Mr. Ripley, written by Patricia Highsmith, was originally published in 1955 by W. W. Norton & Company. The novel falls within the psychological thriller genre and is the first of five books featuring Tom Ripley, known as The Ripleiad, published between 1955 and 1991. The novel has been adapted twice into film, first in 1960 as a French film titled Purple Noon and again in 1991 under its original title. The 1991 film, starring Matt Damon and Jude Law, was directed by Anthony Minghella and remains the most popular adaptation. In addition, the novel has been adapted for radio, as well as television, by the BBC. Although Highsmith’s contributions to the psychological-thriller genre are numerous, there is perhaps no book of hers as well-known as this novel, and Tom Ripley is Highsmith’s most infamous and enduring protagonist.

This study guide refers to the ebook edition, published in 2008 by W.W. Norton & Company.

Content Warning: The source material includes descriptions of murder and suicide. In addition, it uses offensive language to refer to gay men.

Plot Summary

Tom Ripley lives in New York and, although he aspires to be an actor, has been making his living through a variety of financial scams. Herbert Greenleaf introduces himself to Tom in a bar, claiming that they have friends in common. These friends, as it turns out, have recommended Tom as a possible person to help Herbert get his son, Dickie, to return from Italy, where he has been living for the past two years. Over dinner, Herbert offers to pay Tom’s way to travel to Mongibello, the fictitious town where Dickie lives, and persuade him to return to America to reassume his role as heir to the family shipbuilding business and to see his mother, who has leukemia. Tom accepts, seeing this as an opportunity to make some money as well as evade the New York police.

Upon arriving in Mongibello, Tom finds Dickie on the beach with his friend, Marge. Dickie, claiming not to recognize Tom and wanting to distance himself from America, is reserved, so Tom spends a few days in his hotel to plan a more casual approach. When they do finally get together, Tom sees that Dickie holds his connection with Herbert against him. To avoid being dismissed, he tells Dickie that Herbert paid for his travel, an act Dickie finds amusing, thus allying himself with Dickie and against Herbert.

From that moment, Dickie accepts Tom, and soon afterward, Tom moves into his house. As the weeks pass, they become close, and Tom begins to believe that he will stay with Dickie and that together they will live off Dickie’s money. However, one afternoon, Dickie comes home unexpectedly and finds Tom in his bedroom, trying on his clothing. He is unsettled by this, and though he appears to get over it, he begins distancing himself from Tom. Tom senses this and becomes angry. On a trip to San Remo, Tom realizes that Dickie is going to drop him as a friend. He decides to kill Dickie and assume his identity, as he has noticed that they resemble each other enough that he may be able to use Dickie’s passport.

Tom suggests that the two of them rent a boat. When they are out of sight of other boats, Tom beats Dickie to death with an oar. After removing Dickie’s wallet, rings, and all other identification, he ties Dickie’s feet to the boat anchor and drops him overboard. In the process, he goes overboard himself and nearly drowns, then scuttles the boat. The following day, Tom returns to Mongibello. When he sees Marge, he tells her that Dickie has decided to study with a painter in Rome and has sent Tom to close up his house. He packs up Dickie’s things and has them sent to Rome. When he arrives in Rome, he checks into a hotel using Dickie’s passport. Tom corresponds with Marge as Dickie as he travels from Rome to Paris and back again.

Tom settles into his new life in Rome and is planning a trip to Spain when Freddie Miles, a friend of Dickie’s, arrives. Freddie is suspicious of Tom and begins to realize that Tom might be impersonating Dickie, so Tom kills him. That night, he puts the body in Freddie’s car and leaves it on an abandoned road outside Rome. The body is found the next day, and the Roman police begin investigating. Marge writes to say that she will be coming to Rome to see Dickie. At nearly the same time, Tom reads in the newspaper that the boat in which he killed Dickie has been found, and the police are investigating. Suddenly, Dickie Greenleaf becomes a suspect in Tom Ripley’s disappearance and therefore in Freddie Miles’s murder as well. In addition, he receives word that Dickie’s bank suspects some recently signed checks are forgeries.

As the police’s suspicions grow, Tom realizes that he will have to return to his own identity, as Dickie is now being sought and may be under suspicion of murder. He reassumes the identity of Tom Ripley and tells the police that he has been traveling around Europe and did not know that they have been looking for him. He puts Dickie’s possessions in storage, with the exception of his rings, which Tom covets. He forges a will for Dickie in which he gives all his possessions to Tom and seals it to be opened at a later date. Then he tells Marge and Herbert that he believes Dickie may have killed himself.

Tom buys a home in Venice, and Marge comes to visit him. She is unconvinced about Dickie’s suicide but begins to believe it when she finds Dickie’s rings among Tom’s possessions. Herbert Greenleaf arrives in Venice with a private detective, and they all become convinced of Tom’s assertion that Dickie died by suicide. After Herbert returns to America, Tom sends him Dickie’s forged will.

However, just as Tom begins to feel safe, Dickie’s possessions, which he put into storage, are found. After investigating, the police believe that Dickie put them there to evade capture, and because his passport is there, they discontinue their search for him. When Tom travels to Greece, he expects that the policemen he sees on the dock are there to arrest him, but they ignore him. When he goes to the American Express office in Greece to pick up his mail, there is a letter from Herbert. He and his wife believe in the validity of the will Tom forged and are giving Dickie’s possessions and money to him. He has escaped with all of Dickie’s wealth but wonders if he will always be looking over his shoulder, waiting to be caught.