Ripley books: How to read Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley novels in order
Highsmith's character, Tom Ripley, is played by Andrew Scott in the new Netflix series.
New thriller series Ripley is available to stream in full now on Netflix, and it stars Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley, the character who was perhaps most famously played before by Matt Damon.
The character originated in a series of novels by author Patricia Highsmith, who lived between 1921 and 1995 and was famed for her psychological thrillers.
But, with fans diving into the new show, how can they read Highsmith's novels in order, and how many are there in the series to get through?
Read on for everything you need to know about the novels behind the new Netflix series Ripley.
How many novels are there in Patricia Highsmith's Ripley series?
There are five novels in the Ripley series in total, with the books being published over a period of 36 years - between 1955 and 1991.
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The first three of the novels have all been adapted on screen before, while the latter two haven't as of yet.
Scott addressed the prospect of playing a character who has been portrayed by other actors a number of times before in Interview Magazine in October 2021, saying: "There’ve been various iterations of the character, some of which I’ve seen and some of which I’ve avoided. When you’re playing those famous literary characters, you don’t want to just copy.
"I’m interested in the idea of what queerness is, and otherness, because that’s what I think it’s about. The reason he’s such an interesting character is you can’t quite place him.
"If Tom Ripley was in a gay bar, I’m not sure that he would fit in there. Nor do I think he’s a straight character. I think he’s a queer character, in the sense that he’s very 'other'.
"What’s his relationship with sex, or death, or with family or friends? It’s interesting that a character is the sum of the parts that you don’t have to play."
How can you read the Ripley novels in order?
The Ripley novels are best read in their release order, starting with the first book, The Talented Mr Ripley.
You can read the novels in the following order:
- The Talented Mr Ripley (1955)
- Ripley Under Ground (1970)
- Ripley's Game (1974)
- The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980)
- Ripley Under Water (1991)
The first three novels are available as a box set on Amazon.
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How many of the novels does Ripley on Netflix adapt?
The new series adaptation of Highsmith's novels, Ripley, almost entirely sticks to adapting the first book in Highsmith's series - The Talented Mr Ripley.
This isn't the first time that particular novel has been adapted - on the contrary, it has been adapted a number of times, including for the 1999 film The Talented Mr Ripley, which starred Matt Damon in the title role.
That said, there are inclusions from subsequent novels - including John Malkovich as Reeves Minot.
Showrunner Steven Zaillian told Netflix: "The character doesn’t appear until the second Ripley book, but I thought it would be interesting to meet him in this first story, and was delighted when John said yes."
Malkovich previously portrayed Ripley himself in the film adaptation of Ripley's Game.
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As to whether the series adapts more of Highsmith's novels in future remains to be seen. The series is currently listed on Netflix as a limited series, suggesting the first season will be one and done.
However, there has been instances where this has changed after release before, so we could still hear that the show will be returning to adapt Ripley Under Ground and the rest of the novels in future.
Ripley is available to stream on Netflix on now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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