2016 Reprint of 1952 Edition. "The Price of Salt" is Highsmith's only lesbian novel. She is best known for her Ripley detective novels. It is a fairly realistic look at lesbian life in the 1950s. Originally published under the pseudonym of Claire Morgan to protect Highsmith's identity, this novel tells the story of two women and a decision that each one had to make. "For Therese happiness meant risking her future, for Carol it meant sacrificing her past, and for neither could the happiness, if chosen, be assured, for it lay outside of convention, scorned by society, condemned by law."---From...

Ray Garrett, a wealthy young American living in Europe, is grieving over the death of his wife, Peggy. Ray is at a loss for why she would take her own life, but Peggy's father, Ed Coleman, a painter, has no such uncertainty--he blames Ray completely. Late one night in Rome, Coleman shoots Ray at point-blank range. He thinks he's had his revenge, but Ray survives and follows Coleman and his wealthy girlfriend to Venice.

In Venice, it happens again: Coleman attacks his loathed son-in-law, dumping him into the cold waters of the Laguna. Ray survives thanks to the help of a boatman, and this...