Patricia Highsmith Comics. When Highsmith wrote the psychological thriller novel "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1955), one of the title character's first victims is a comic-book artist named Reddington: "Tom had a hunch about Reddington. He was a comic-book artist. He probably didn't know whether he was coming or going." Highsmith's first novel, "Strangers on a Train", proved modestly successful upon publication in 1950, and Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 film adaptation of the novel enhanced her reputation. Highsmith's second novel, "The Price of Salt", was published in 1952 under the "nom de plume" Claire Morgan. Highsmith mined her personal life for the novel's content.
Patricia Schartle Myrer in 1963, Schartle continued as Patricia Highsmith's American literary agent. A. M. Heath served as Patricia Highsmith's British agents. Over time, Patricia Highsmith came to resent the 5% commission each literary agency took. Patricia Schartle Myrer fired Highsmith as her client in 1979. In 1965 Schartle helped Noah Gordon become a serious novelist by getting him a book contract with a publishing firm after he submitted an outline for a novel to Schartle. It was at Schartle's suggestion that Gordon then wrote the Cole trilogy, a series of books about the dynasty of a single family over many generations. Patricia