HIGHSMITH, Patricia ~ Ripley’s Game.

FIRST UK PRINTING. Heinemann, London: 1974.

8vo., brown publisher's boards, lettered with decorative borders in gilt to spine; preserved in the original unclipped dustwrapper (£2.50 net) featuring a photograph by Graham Miller; THE BOOK near-fine, spine a little rolled with mild bruises to head and foot; internally very fresh, with bookseller's sticker to gutter of front paste-down; THE WRAPPER near-fine, with none of the usual fading to the spine; a little rubbed at extremities with one very short closed tear to the rear panel. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. First UK edition. The third novel in Highsmith's 'Ripliad' series, which feature the protagonist Tom Ripley. Beginning with 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' (1955) and continued with 'Ripley Under Ground' (1970), the series concluded with 'The Boy Who Followed Ripley' in 1980, and 'Ripley Under Water' in 1991. The books follow a con artist who, in the debut novel, is sent to Italy in order to convince a shipbuilding magnate's son to return to New York and take over the family business. Ripley's subsequent obsession with 'Dickie' leads to tragic - and dramatic - results. 'Ripley Under Ground' continued the narrative six years later, as the protagonist settled in France with a sizable inheritance, married an heiress and became involved in the art world. The present work sees Ripley attempting to 'get back into the game', with Tom plotting to bribe an English picture framer to commit a murder, causing suspicion to fall on a rival mafia family. Of course, Highsmith's usual corruption and bloodshed follow. The books have been adapted for film, TV and radio multiple times, with the most recent iteration in 2024, starring the wonderful Andrew Scott in the lead role. Highsmith herself described her character as complex: a "suave, agreeable and utterly amoral" man. Scarce in this condition.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Near Fine
JACKET: Near Fine