Biography
Best known for the Bourne series of thriller novels, Robert Ludlum is synonymous with intricate espionage novels full of intricate plotting, complex conspiracies and political intrigue. The adopted son of Margaret and George Ludlum, Robert was born in New York City in 1927. He left home aged 17 and tried to make it as an actor on Broadway, before attempting to join the Canadian Air Force (he was rejected for being too young), whereupon he attended Cheshire Academy and joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1945, serving in the South Pacific until 1947.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Ludlum worked as a theatrical actor and producer, an experience he later credited with helping him to understand the sense of drama, suspense and escapism needed to tell a good story.
His first novel, The Scarlatti Inheritance, was published in 1971. Set during the Second World War, Albert R. Broccoli - producer of the James Bond films - purchased the film rights, and Ingrid Bergman was signed up to star in it; unfortunately, the film was never made. His second novel, The Osterman Weekend, was published the following year and adapted into a film starring John Hurt, Burt Lancaster and Rutger Hauer.
Ludlum continued to publish throughout the 1970s and regularly topped the bestseller charts, but it was The Bourne Identity, published in 1980, that brought him the greatest recognition. It was adapted into a television series in 1988, and in 2002 was adapted into a blockbuster film starring Matt Damon. Ludlum wrote three novels starring Jason Bourne, and following his death in 2001, Eric Van Lustbader and Brian Freeman continued the series, with nearly 20 books now in the Jason Bourne series.
Offering intricate plots, exotic locations, mysterious characters and fast-paced action, the novels of Robert Ludlum are engaging espionage thrillers that blend a level of authenticity and real-world political issues with suspense, drama and adventure.
