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Marijane Meaker
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Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950's Paperback – April 1, 2003

by Marijane Meaker (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 52 ratings
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Patricia Highsmith, author of such classics as The Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train, was a writer who defied simple categorization. Gore Vidal called her: "One of the greatest modernist writers." The Cleveland Plain Dealer rightly commented: "Patricia Highsmith is often called a mystery or crime writer, which is a bit like calling Picasso a draftsman."

To young novelist Marijane Meaker, however, Highsmith was more than a role model. Shortly after the two met in a New York City lesbian bar, they became lovers and embarked on a two year romance amidst the bohemian set of Greenwich Village and the literary crowd of Fire Island. There, the pair navigated the underground lesbian scene, lunched with literary stars like Janet Flanner, shared intimacies, and gossiped with abandon. Written with wit and brassy candor, Highsmith: A Romance of 1950s is a revealing look at the controversial icon of popular American fiction.
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  1. Print length
    216 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Cleis Press
  4. Publication date
    April 1, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1573441716
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1573441711
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950s begins like a brainy, romantic novel complete with exotic settings, fast-paced dialogue, and a who’s who of the 1950s New York literati. All this should not be surprising given that Marijane Meaker’s tale of her two-year relationship with famed mystery novelist Patricia Highsmith comes from a pen that has crafted more than 40 works of fiction and non-fiction.

Meaker’s touch is light and clear. She backlights her memoir with glimpses of the New York scene of the era: the Mafia-controlled lesbian bars, the rise of Fire Island, the rage for Freudian psychoanalysis. She doesn't attempt a detailed literary biography, nor is the book a complete psychological portrait of Highsmith. But Meaker, a self-proclaimed lover of pseudonymous disguises, does peer beneath Highsmith’s public mask to reveal her constant despair over a disapproving mother, her fascination/obsession with Germany, and her discomfort around intellectuals. This, and Meaker’s persistent jealousy and constant fear that her beloved Pat would leave her to write in Europe slowly edges the narrative into darker territory. Inevitably, the lovers part, as each author kills off the other, albeit in fictional form, with their first post-relationship murder mysteries.

Meaker closes the book by describing her difficult 1992 reunion with Highsmith. Meaker depicts her ex-lover as a hard-drinking, grizzled, chain-smoking, bigoted woman recently returned from Europe and recovering from a bout with lung cancer. Far from the bright beginnings of young love in the 1950s, this segment provides a depth absent from the earlier, more novelistic chapters and provides a glimpse of what a further, more complete biography might have to offer. --Patrick O’Kelley

Review

"...a fascinating chronicle of life among the New York literati and the city's lesbian scene of the era..." -- Toronto Globe & Mail

"Meaker's memoir is a wonderful book....a romance in so many ways." -- Boston Globe

" a confessional style animates 'Highsmith,' [Meaker's] sincere account of their relatioinship, which took place between 1959 and 1961." -- New York Times

" written with intelligence a fascinating study of Highsmith " -- Dallas Star-Telegram

Gives an intimate insight into lesbian relationships as lived in 1950s America not the easiest of times to be openly queer -- Diva (UK), October 2003

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cleis Press; 1st edition (April 1, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 216 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1573441716
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1573441711
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 52 ratings

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Marijane Meaker

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
52 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book well-written and readable. They appreciate the terse chapters and plain language. However, opinions differ on the interest level - some find it interesting and an important piece of American literary history, while others feel it lacks detail and is not very memorable.

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PacingInterest
4 customers mention "Pacing"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and readable. They appreciate the spare style and terse chapters, which remind them of Highsmith. The author's writing style is described as plain, outspoken, and self-centered.

"...Instead, I was left with more of a sense of Marijane Meaker -- plain spoken, outspoken, self-centered; seemingly honest, if not always high minded...." Read more

"...subculture of the fifties and sixties or anyone who just likes a well written, complex love story." Read more

"I like Meaker's spare style and terse chapters which remind me of a Highsmith novel or most fifties novels in general...." Read more

"Readable, But Not Very Memorable..." Read more

5 customers mention "Interest"3 positive2 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book. Some find it an interesting story and a piece of American literary history, while others say it's not very detailed or memorable.

"...the fifties and sixties or anyone who just likes a well written, complex love story." Read more

"This sketchy, anecdotal, ultimately superficial book covers Meaker's two-year romance and cohabitation with author Patricia Highsmith...." Read more

"...Interesting read." Read more

"Yeaaaaah. It’s ok. Not very detailed or interesting. But hey,I did read all of it." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • J. Williams
    5.0 out of 5 stars works on many levels
    Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This connects on so many levels, personally as a love story, a description of a complex person who was also a gifted artist, and as a first-person narrative of closeted life in America. I really enjoyed the insights provided by Meaker which on the whole seemed balanced. As for Highsmith, I loved her more, not less after reading this and not because I admired her behavior but because I better understood her restless and contradictory spirit and its contribution to her art.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • A.R.N.
    3.0 out of 5 stars More Meaker than Highsmith
    Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    As a big Highsmith fan, I read this hoping for some insight into PH. Instead, I was left with more of a sense of Marijane Meaker -- plain spoken, outspoken, self-centered; seemingly honest, if not always high minded. I got no sense of why Highsmith was in this relationship, and the book just adds to the confusion. Meaker didn't seem to be PH's usual type (married, beautiful, inaccessible), and Meaker's fear of losing Highsmith caused them to move almost immediately to a remote part of PA, where it was more a story of separate lives, minus dinners and sex. I also wonder about the inclusion of their last (and only post-relationship) meeting, which came many decades after their affair and near the end of PH's life, when she was clearly a woman beset by poor health and by alcoholism. It seems almost cruel to talk about someone in their last, ill years. Meaker hosted one book club meeting at the house when PH was there, and dragged to another -- small, boring affairs that I took as impositions, as Meaker showed off her old friend. Yet she got annoyed that PH drank to get through it. And the line about throwing out all the soap that Highsmith might have used -- brutal.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Jim Lester
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting piece of American literary history
    Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2013
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    Marijane Meaker has had a long and distinguished career as a writer. First, in the 1950s and 1960s, she wrote excellent suspense novels under the name Vin Packer. Then later she became a highly successful young adult novelist under the name M.E. Kerr. This book is a memoir of her brief but intense relationship with Patricia Highsmith, the famous author of "Strangers on a Train" and the Mr. Ripley series. On the surface the narrative is relatively simple--two woman in the lesbian subculture of New York fall in love, move to an idyllic rural community where they live until they fall out and one of them moves to Europe. But Meaker's skills as a writer make the story for more than that. She has a terrific eye for details--what people wore, what they ate, what they drank, the atmosphere of small, out of the way bars in New York as well as the complex persona that was Patricia Highsmith.

    Meaker doesn't see Highsmith through rose colored glasses. Her portrait is as multisided as Highsmith herself. The famous mystery writer could be thoughtful, kind and loving. But she could also be petty, restless, mean-spirited and later in life vehemently antisemitic. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in American literary history, Patricia Highsmith, the New York lesbian subculture of the fifties and sixties or anyone who just likes a well written, complex love story.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • silver
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gives some background on HIghsmith's life
    Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    What I liked about this book was that it helped my understanding of Highsmith the person and Highsmith the author. It seems so true coming from one of her lovers. I don't think that anything would have kept Highsmith from self-destructing. Interesting read.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Coloratura
    2.0 out of 5 stars Readable, But Not Very Memorable
    Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This sketchy, anecdotal, ultimately superficial book covers Meaker's two-year romance and cohabitation with author Patricia Highsmith. More than a few times, the author uses the book to promote her own work - which, I'm told, is usually more interesting than this minor memoir - and overlooked place in the history of gay literature. Meaker claims to have been a fan of Highsmith's work before meeting her but the text does not reflect a fascination with her writing, so much as envy for her hardcover status and international success, and if their romance generated much in the way of passion, it's certainly not conveyed to the reader. If you're looking for biographical matter, there are more revealing books about Patricia Highsmith out there (notably Joan Schenkar's); this one basically details her at her most commonplace. The most disappointing thing about this book is that - one or two pivotal episodes aside, like the surprise visit from Pat's mother - it could almost be about anybody. I read the Kindle edition, and it was the first Kindle book I've bought where the layout appeared to be padded with lots of air, so be warned there is less here to read than the page count may convey.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • sungrass
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent condition, arrived promptly
    Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    perfect
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  • Jeffrey T. Kane
    3.0 out of 5 stars For Hardcore Fans Only
    Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2003
    Verified Purchase
    I like Meaker's spare style and terse chapters which remind me of a Highsmith novel or most fifties novels in general. It didn't have as much detail about Highsmith as I'd like and I don't really see anyone who's not familiar with Highsmith or Meaker taking interest in the story.
    To be honest even though I bought this book I'd only reccommend it to Marijane Meaker fans. As for the strictly Highsmith fans you'd be much better off with one of her novels or Andrew Wilson's excellent biography "Beautiful Shadow: A Life Of Patricia Highsmith" which reads as addictively as one of her own novels.
    15 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and readable.
    Reviewed in Canada on January 9, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I ordered this book from Amazon because it was listed as "reference only" at the Toronto Public Library, and you cannot check it out. So I got a copy from Amazon and it was a good read.
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  • Addison de Witt
    3.0 out of 5 stars Décevant
    Reviewed in France on July 17, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    On attendait bien davantage de cette écrivaine qui a partagé un temps la vie de le grande Patricia Highsmith. Écriture sans relief, portrait sans "âme".
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