Joan Schenkar and Patricia Highsmith: Partners in Crime
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Published: Feb 08, 2011
Who would spend 8 years researching and writing a biography of Patricia Highsmith, the dark genius who wrote thrillers packed with evil? Someone who might also have some Issues. In the Paris Review, Joan Schenkar — author of The Talented Miss Highsmith — writes: “I rue the day I didn’t have my late stepmother whacked. I’d rather eat dirt than talk to my larcenous cousins. I haven’t forgiven my father for disinheriting me. I don’t like families.” Wow. What follows? An illuminating look at biographical fascination — and discretion.