Thomas Ripley is the name of a literary character, and also the name of an English architect.
Character by Patricia Highsmith
Thomas Ripley is the infamous
protagonist of the
Ripliad by
Patricia Highsmith, and hence protagonist in several films spawned from the novels. He has been played by
Matt Damon,
John Malkovich,
Dennis Hopper,
Barry Pepper and
Alain Delon.
Orphaned at a young age when his parents drowned, he was brought up in Boston by an emotionally abusive aunt. He left at 18 for New York.
A sociopath, Ripley lived for years off of his "talents"--forgery, impersonation and lying--until he was paid to go to Italy by Herbert Greenleaf, a rich shipping magnate, to convince his son Dickie (a half-remembered acquaintance) to return to the family business. Ripley eventually murdered the younger Greenleaf and assumed his identity after the young playboy spurned his friendship and latent homosexual attraction, and used it both to travel in luxury and to enjoy pretending to be someone other than himself.
After murdering Greenleaf's suspicious friend, Freddie Miles, Ripley forged Greenleaf's will, leaving himself the other man's inheritance, and returned to New York.
He was involved in many criminal enterprises after that, including art forgery, an entanglement with the Mafia, and several murders, although he hated the latter unless "necessary."
Initially living in Italy, he had several abodes before settling down at his chateau, Belle Ombre, on the outskirts of Villeperce, France, with a rich trophy wife, Heloise, who suspected but preferred not to know about his criminal activities. His last reported murder was of a neighbor who had threatened to reveal his criminal past.
While the novels were written over a period of 36 years (from 1955 to 1991) only about ten years pass in the chronology of the books, even though the fashions, politics and music reflected those of the time in which they were written.
British Architect
Thomas Ripley (ca 1683 - February 10, 1758), was born in Yorkshire. An ex-carpenter, he rose by degrees to become an architect in the royal Office of Works, where he was influenced by the Palladian style, but never lost his provincial manner, which earned the private derision of Sir John Vanbrugh and the public scorn of Alexander Pope. He worked on the site of Houghton Hall for Sir Robert Walpole, but to the designs of the Palladian architects Colen Campbell and William Kent. In 1721 he succeeded Grinling Gibbons as "Master Carpenter," and in 1726 he succeeded Vanbrugh as "Comptroller of the King's Works", largely to the influence of Walpole.
Works