This fascinating post sent me back to Highsmith’s guidebook PLOTTING AND WRITING SUSPENSE FICTION, which is full of wisdom for writers of any kind of fiction. She pointedly mentions snails and shells. For instance: “Writers and painters have by nature little in the way of protective shells and try all their lives to revove what they have, since various buffetings and impressions are the material they need to work from.”
I look forward to your articles and get excited every time I see one post! They are always so rich with new learning for me and ultimately each one sends me down the rabbit hole to read and learn more about your featured figures. Thank you for what I can only assume is a mountainous amount of research and effort that goes into each creation!
If I ever get a pet panda I'll call her Miranda! That children's book title is so cute, what a contrast with the author's real life! I didn't know anything about Highsmith, thank you for writing this in-depth essay and sharing it with us.
Love this! I learned about Highsmith and her snails 🐌 (and that French boob escapade!) recently in Mason Currey’s book 📖 I haven’t read Highsmith’s work but find her a fascinating character (at least from afar).
No knowing enough about Highsmith other than interest in their work, like Shannon above, I wondered how much of that reputation was borne of misogyny.
The second thing I was thinking throughout was “autism much?!” I don’t like to be flippant with labels but beside the obvious trauma of their upbringing, it seemed like some pretty strong neurodiverse flags were going up.
One of her short story collections consists entirely of murders committed by animals of all shapes and sizes. She might have been suggesting it wasn't a purely human desire.
This fascinating post sent me back to Highsmith’s guidebook PLOTTING AND WRITING SUSPENSE FICTION, which is full of wisdom for writers of any kind of fiction. She pointedly mentions snails and shells. For instance: “Writers and painters have by nature little in the way of protective shells and try all their lives to revove what they have, since various buffetings and impressions are the material they need to work from.”
I look forward to your articles and get excited every time I see one post! They are always so rich with new learning for me and ultimately each one sends me down the rabbit hole to read and learn more about your featured figures. Thank you for what I can only assume is a mountainous amount of research and effort that goes into each creation!
If I ever get a pet panda I'll call her Miranda! That children's book title is so cute, what a contrast with the author's real life! I didn't know anything about Highsmith, thank you for writing this in-depth essay and sharing it with us.
Love this! I learned about Highsmith and her snails 🐌 (and that French boob escapade!) recently in Mason Currey’s book 📖 I haven’t read Highsmith’s work but find her a fascinating character (at least from afar).
“Get yourself some pets and a garden, it’ll take the edge off” — amazing post, Bailey.
I truly deeply believe she was a serial killer and has gone undetected. What a hideous person.
No knowing enough about Highsmith other than interest in their work, like Shannon above, I wondered how much of that reputation was borne of misogyny.
The second thing I was thinking throughout was “autism much?!” I don’t like to be flippant with labels but beside the obvious trauma of their upbringing, it seemed like some pretty strong neurodiverse flags were going up.
Great article. I am glad I didn’t know her personally.
One of her short story collections consists entirely of murders committed by animals of all shapes and sizes. She might have been suggesting it wasn't a purely human desire.