Friday 6 November 2015

Introducing Patricia Highsmith

Highsmith, you may say, needs no introduction. But bear with me. Because I have some exciting news to share.

Highsmith is one of my writing heroes. I love her characters, her stories, even her misanthropy. Her books are on my all-time favourite reading lists. Her 1947 New Year's Toast have been words by which I've lived my writing life. I loved taking part in the panel celebrating her work at the Theakstons Crime Writing Festival earlier this year, with Peter James, Martin Edwards, Peter Swanson and Andrew Taylor.

Imagine my excitement, then, when I was invited to write an introduction to new editions of three of her books, being republished in style by Virago, who have done a simply splendid job of the recent batch including this beautiful cover for A Tremor of Forgery.

I was invited to choose from the list of yet-to-be-republished titles, and I picked This Sweet Sickness (one of my favourites), The Two Faces of January (recently filmed) and People who Knock on the Door (little known, but a true gem).

All three books will be published in June 2016. My name on three Patricia Highsmith books! The fan-girling starts here...


2 comments:

anita dawes said...

Wow, what an honour...

Sarah Hilary said...

Thanks, Anita, yes absolutely an honour!