7 d. ago ‘You are living with a difficult person who is waiting to die’: my harrowing time as Patricia Highsmith’s assistant

I worked for the author of The Talented Mr Ripley in her final months. She was so mean and secretive, I imagined she wanted to kill meI first read Patricia Highsmith’s novels in the autumn of 1994. I was 20 and living in a room in her house in Tegna, Switzerland, that was plastered with bookshelves full of her first editions, organised in chronological order. Pat was 73 and knew she was about to die; she had been, it was rumoured, diagnosed with cancer or some other terminal disease. I was trapped in her world with her, trembling. She had weeks left to live and had spent so much time writing about how to get away with murder. I fantasised that she might try to kill me.The story of how I ended up in that house begins a few months earlier, in Zurich, with me on a blue tram, on my way to dinner at the house of Anna and Daniel Keel, a couple I’d grown friendly with. Anna was a brilliant painter for whom I had been modelling since I was 17. Her studio smelled like oil paint, instant coff...

Events

2 w. ago Labour welfare bill latest: Starmer’s benefits cuts plan scrapes through Commons after key reform abandoned

MPs debating second reading of bill in Commons ahead of crunch vote

Economics

2 w. ago Labour welfare bill latest: Starmer abandons key benefits reform in last

MPs debating second reading of bill in Commons ahead of crunch vote

Economics

2 w. ago Labour welfare bill latest: Starmer offers rebel MPs fresh concession ahead of vote

MPs debating second reading of bill in Commons ahead of crunch vote

Politics

2 w. ago PIP changes explained with fears it will hugely impact Wales

What the PIP changes could mean for benefits claimants in Wales ahead of crunch vote

Politics

2 w. ago Labour welfare bill latest: Rebel MPs lash out at Starmer over ‘Dickensian’ benefit cuts ahead of vote

MPs debating second reading of bill in Commons ahead of crunch vote

Politics

2 w. ago Labour welfare bill latest: Top barrister warns Starmer benefit cuts could break international law

MPs debating second reading of bill in Commons ahead of crunch vote

Events

2 w. ago Who are the key Labour figures leading the charge against Keir Starmer's benefits cuts?

Dozens of Labour MPs are said to still be uneasy about the tweaked welfare reforms as the government heads to a crunch vote

Politics

2 w. ago Cabinet minister urges MPs to back welfare Bill as rebellion looms

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds appealed to backbenchers to support the Bill ahead of a crunch vote on Tuesday.

Politics

2 w. ago Starmer’s authority under fire as Labour MPs threaten biggest revolt yet in crunch vote on benefit reforms

Ministers hope that the PM’s partial U-turn will be enough to win over sufficient Labour rebels to pass the Government’s welfare changes when MPs vote on Tuesday

Events

2 w. ago Labour benefits cuts latest: Starmer braces for major rebellion over crunch welfare bill vote today

More than 120 Labour backbenchers had signed an amendment that would have effectively killed the legislation

Politics

2 w. ago Starmer's peace deal with Labour benefits rebels on brink of collapse: PM faces risk of defeat in crunch vote AGAIN as he is accused of reneging on £2.5bn boost to handouts

Despite the PM's frantic efforts to cool temperatures in the party, Sadiq Khan has waded back in to insist the plans still need 'radical transformation'.

Economics

2 w. ago Sadiq Khan demands MORE welfare concessions from Starmer as PM still faces '50

Despite the PM's frantic efforts to cool temperatures in the party, Sadiq Khan has waded back in to insist the plans still need 'radical transformation'.

Politics

2 w. ago Labour benefits cuts latest: 150,000 more Britons to be dragged into poverty despite Starmer’s welfare U

Around 50 MPs are still thought to be planning to rebel against the bill in a crunch vote on Tuesday

Politics

2 w. ago Labour benefits cuts latest: Pressure piles on Starmer after Burnham tells MPs to vote down welfare bill

Around 50 MPs are still thought to be planning to rebel against the bill in a crunch vote on Tuesday

Events

2 w. ago MPs on fence ahead of crunch welfare vote as 'costs facing disabled people soar'

Dozens of Labour MPs are still said to be on the fence about whether to support plans to reform the welfare system in a crunch vote on Tuesday, despite major concessions

Politics

2 w. ago Keir Starmer has had worst start of any PM in 100 years, expert warns

Labour prime minister’s time in office even worse than that of Liz Truss, top historian says, although he looks likely to win this week’s crunch welfare vote after benefits U-turn and optomism can help him defeat Nigel Farage’s Reform

Events

2 w. ago Longtime State Department spokesman, diplomat Richard Boucher, dies at 73

Richard Boucher, who served for more than a decade as spokesman for the State Department and assistant secretary of state for public affairs, has died at age 73

Events

2 w. ago Starmer caves in to rebels on benefits: Sir Keir is forced into a humiliating climbdown by Labour welfare army

The Prime Minister is said to have handed them 'massive concessions' in a bid to avoid defeat in a crunch vote on benefit cuts next week.

Politics

2 w. ago Starmer caves in to rebels on benefits: Sir Keir is forced into a humiliating climb

The Prime Minister is said to have handed them 'massive concessions' in a bid to avoid defeat in a crunch vote on benefit cuts next week.

Politics