Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 New York City – March 12, 2001 Naples, Florida) was an American author of 29 thriller novels. There are more than 210 million copies of his books in print, and they have been translated into 32 languages. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd[1].

Some of Ludlum's novels have been made into films and mini-series, including The Osterman Weekend, The Holcroft Covenant, The Apocalypse Watch, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. A non-Ludlum book supposedly inspired by his unused notes, Covert One: The Hades Factor, has also been made into a mini-series. The Bourne movies, starring Matt Damon in the title role, have been commercially successful, although the story lines depart significantly from the source material.

Ludlum was educated at Cheshire Academy and Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Prior to becoming an author he had been a theatrical actor and producer. His theatrical experience may have contributed to his understanding of the energy, escapism and action that the public wanted in a novel. He once remarked: "I equate suspense and good theater in a very similar way. I think it's all suspense and what-happens-next. From that point of view, yes, I guess, I am theatrical."

Ludlum died in 2001, reportedly leaving behind several unpublished manuscripts and rough outlines, which continue to be dusted off and published with the help of ghostwriters.

Writing analysis and criticism

Ludlum's novels typically featured one heroic man, or a small group of crusading individuals, in a struggle against powerful adversaries whose intentions and motivations are evil, adversaries capable of using political and economic mechanisms in frightening ways. His vision of the world was one where global corporations, shadowy military forces and government organizations all conspired to preserve (if it was evil) or undermine (if it was good) the status quo. With the exception of occasional gaps in his knowledge of firearms, his novels are meticulously researched, replete with technical, physical and biological details, including research on amnesia for The Bourne Identity.

Ludlum's novels were often inspired by conspiracy theories, both historical and contemporary. He wrote that The Matarese Circle was inspired by rumors about the Trilateral Commission, and it was published only a few years after the commission was founded. His depictions of terrorism in books such as The Holcroft Covenant and The Matarese Circle reflected the theory that terrorists were only pawns of governments or private organizations that wished to use terror as a pretext for establishing authoritarian rule, not the isolated bands of ideologically motivated extremists they were so often made out to be.

Selected bibliography

By Ludlum, published during the author's lifetime († March 2001)

• The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971)
• The Osterman Weekend (1972)
• The Matlock Paper (1973)
• Trevayne (1973, writing under the pen-name Jonathan Ryder)
• The Cry of the Halidon (1974, writing under the pen-name Jonathan Ryder)
• The Rhinemann Exchange (1974)
• The Road to Gandolfo (1975, writing under the pen-name Michael Shephard)
• The Gemini Contenders (1976)
• The Chancellor Manuscript (1977)
• The Holcroft Covenant (1978)
• The Matarese Circle (1979)
• The Bourne Identity (1980)
• The Parsifal Mosaic (1982)
• The Aquitaine Progression (1984)
• The Bourne Supremacy (1986)
• The Icarus Agenda (1988)
• The Bourne Ultimatum (1990)
• The Road to Omaha (1992)
• The Scorpio Illusion (1993)
• The Apocalypse Watch (1995)
• The Matarese Countdown (1997)
• The Prometheus Deception (2000)

Credited To Ludlum, published posthumously

Most, if not all, of these are written by a so far unknown ghostwriter who has been faithful to Robert Ludlum's style of writing. [2][3][4]

• The Sigma Protocol (October, 2001)
• The Janson Directive (2002)
• The Tristan Betrayal (2003)
• The Ambler Warning (2005)
• The Bancroft Strategy (2006)

Covert-One series

Written by other authors, supposedly based on unpublished material by Robert Ludlum.

• The Hades Factor (by Gayle Lynds) (2000)
• The Cassandra Compact (by Phillip Shelby) (2001)
• The Paris Option (by Gayle Lynds) (2002)
• The Altman Code (by Gayle Lynds) (2003)
• The Lazarus Vendetta (by Patrick Larkin) (2004)
• The Moscow Vector (by Patrick Larkin) (2005)
• The Arctic Event (by James Cobb) (Not Yet Published - September 2007 or August 1, 2008)

Sequels to Ludlum Books

• The Bourne Legacy (by Eric Van Lustbader) (2004)
• The Bourne Betrayal (by Eric Van Lustbader) (2007)

Filmography

Some of Ludlum's novels have been made into films and mini-series, although the story lines might depart significantly from the source material. In general, a miniseries is more faithful to the original novel it is based on.

• 1977 - The Rhinemann Exchange — miniseries — Stephen Collins as David Spaulding, Lauren Hutton as Leslie Jenner Hawkewood
• 1983 - The Osterman Weekend — film — Rutger Hauer as John Tanner
• 1985 - The Holcroft Covenant — film — Michael Caine as Noel Holcroft
• 1988 - The Bourne Identity — miniseries — Richard Chamberlain as Jason Bourne, Jaclyn Smith as Marie St. Jacques
• 1997 - The Apocalypse Watch — miniseries — Patrick Bergin as Drew Latham
• 2002 - The Bourne Identity — film — Matt Damon as Jason Bourne and Franka Potente as Marie Helena Kreutz
• 2004 - The Bourne Supremacy — film — Matt Damon as Jason Bourne
• 2006 - Covert One: The Hades Factor — miniseries — Stephen Dorff as Jon Smith
• 2007 - The Bourne Ultimatum — film — Matt Damon as Jason Bourne
• 2008 - The Chancellor Manuscript — film — Leonardo DiCaprio as Peter Chancellor ¹

¹ announced/in development

Trivia

• According to various sources, in 1993 Ludlum adopted four monkeys from a local zoo and brought them to a wildlife shelter in Northern Africa.^{[citation needed]}.

• According to The Midday Quiz at Wisconsin Public Radio, the author's publishers "insisted on titles limited to an article, a colorful adjective and a noun" (see question asked on 03/05/07) - all of Robert Ludlum's novels began with a "The ..." with the exception of Trevayne.

Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ludlum

To examine the Critical Companion to Popular Comtemporary Writers dedicated to Robert Ludlum please visit http://books.google.com.jm/books?id=iU9-UCNiiFkC&dq=Robert+Ludlum&pg=PP1&ots=k6i4igHjSB &sig=ZJ2u0WrC5OqjR-VVa7wOUl4Z3MQ&prev=http://www.google.com.jm/search%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3DRobert%2BLudlum&sa=X&oi=print&ct=titl e