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ABOUT THE BOOKThe Price of Salt (later republished as Carol) is a groundbreaking 1952 romance novel by Patricia Highsmith, originally published under the pseudonym Claire Morgan. Best known for her psychological thrillers like Strangers on a Train, Highsmith chose an alias to avoid being labeled a “lesbian-book writer,” drawing instead from her own life for the novel’s characters and events.
Unlike most lesbian fiction of its time, The Price of Salt offered readers a rare and hopeful ending. It remains Highsmith’s only novel centered on an explicitly lesbian relationship, notable for its emotional depth and honest portrayal of desire.
The story’s enduring power inspired multiple adaptations, including a 2014 British radio drama and the 2015 film Carol, which received six Academy Award and nine BAFTA nominations.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Patricia Highsmith
(January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995)
An American novelist and short story writer, Patricia Highsmith was celebrated for her psychologically complex thrillers and morally ambiguous characters. Her works include over 22 novels and numerous short stories, with her Tom Ripley series and Strangers on a Train earning lasting acclaim and numerous film adaptations.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Highsmith grew up in New York City and graduated from Barnard College in 1942. After an early career writing comic books, she achieved literary fame with Strangers on a Train (1950), later adapted by Alfred Hitchcock.
Often described as “the poet of apprehension,” Highsmith’s writing explored identity, guilt, and desire, challenging conventional morality. Despite her controversial personal views, she remains one of the most influential writers of 20th-century psychological fiction.
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