PATRICIA HIGHSMITH (1921-1995) was an enormously popular and critically acclaimed novelist best known for her intricate tales involving moral ambiguity. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, she is one of the truly original voices in American literature. Highsmith spent much of her later life in Europe, leaving a legacy of dark, incisive fiction.Stimpson, Catharine R.: - CATHARINE R. STIMPSON is a pioneering figure in the field of women and gender studies, an early practitioner of feminist criticism, and the founding editor of Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. She has been the president of the Modern Language Association, the chair of the Board of Creative Capital, and the chair of the board of Scholars at Risk. She is University Professor Emerita and Dean Emerita at New York University.