Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 – March 12, 2001) was an American author of 27 thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original The Bourne Trilogy series. The number of copies of his books in print is estimated between 300 million and 500 million. They have been published in 33 languages and 40 countries. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.

Life and career

Early life and education
Ludlum was born in New York City, the son of Margaret (née Wadsworth) and George Hartford Ludlum. He was educated at the Rectory School then Cheshire Academy and Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he earned a B.A. in Drama in 1951.

Career
Prior to becoming an author, he had been a United States Marine, a theatrical actor and producer. In the 1950s, he produced shows at the Grant Lee theater in Fort Lee, New Jersey. From 1960 to 1970, he managed and produced shows at the Playhouse on the Mall at Bergen Mall in Paramus, New Jersey. 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."

Many 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. Covert One: The Hades Factor, a book co-written with Gayle Lynds, was originally conceived as a mini-series; the book evolved from a short treatment Ludlum wrote for NBC. The Bourne movies, starring Matt Damon in the title role, have been commercially and critically successful (The Bourne Ultimatum won three Academy Awards in 2008), although the story lines depart significantly from the source material.

During the 1970s, Ludlum lived in Leonia, New Jersey, where he spent hours each day writing at his home.

Death
Ludlum died of a heart attack on March 12, 2001, at his home in Naples, Florida, while recovering from severe burns caused by a mysterious fire which occurred on February 10, 2001.

In 2005, the company which held all merchandising for Ludlum's works via the Ludlum's estate, Ludlum Entertainment, inked an agreement with Vivendi Universal Games to handle video game rights to the games for a 10-year agreement. The license expired in 2008. On November 20, 2008, the Ludlum estate inked a deal with Universal Pictures to develop feature films based on the works of Robert Ludlum. On February 2, 2009, his estate transferred video game rights to Ludlum’s work to Electronic Arts after Activision took over Vivendi Games' assets.

Writing analysis and criticism
Ludlum's novels typically feature one heroic man, or a small group of crusading individuals, in a struggle against powerful adversaries whose intentions and motivations are evil and who are capable of using political and economic mechanisms in frightening ways. The world in his writings is one where global corporations, shadowy military forces and government organizations all conspired to preserve (if it was evil) or undermine (if it was law-abiding) the status quo.

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, rather than being merely isolated bands of ideologically or politically motivated extremists, are actually pawns of governments or private organizations who are using them to facilitate the establishment of authoritarian rule.

Bibliography

Filmography
Many of Ludlum's novels have been made into films and miniseries, although the storylines might depart significantly from the source material. In general, a miniseries is more faithful to the original novel on which it is based.  Adaptations of Ludlum's works are published under the trademark Treadstone, which is held by the executor of the Robert Ludlum estate.
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, Sam Peckinpah directed
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
2012 – The Bourne Legacy — film — starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton
2016 – Jason Bourne — film — Matt Damon as Jason Bourne
TBA – The Chancellor Manuscript — film — Leonardo DiCaprio as Peter Chancellor1
TBA – The Janson Directive — film — John Cena as Paul Janson1

1 announced/in development

See also

 Airport novel
 Publishers Weekly lists of bestselling novels in the United States
 Spy fiction

References

External links

Official Robert Ludlum website
 
Robert Ludlum at the Internet Book List

 
1927 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American novelists
American male novelists
American spy fiction writers
American thriller writers
People from Leonia, New Jersey
United States Marines
Wesleyan University alumni
Novelists from New York City
Postmodern writers
Cheshire Academy alumni
United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
20th-century American male writers
로버트 러들럼(, 1927년 5월 25일 ~ 2001년 3월 12일)은 25권의 스릴러 장편소설을 쓴 미국의 소설가이다. 그의 책은 32개 언어로 번역되어 모두 2억 9천만 권 정도가 팔렸다. 조너선 라이더(Jonathan Ryder), 마이클 셰퍼드(Michael Shepherd) 라는 필명을 사용하기도 했다.

많은 책이 영화로 또는 미니 시리즈로 만들어졌다. 〈오스터먼 위켄드 The Osterman Weekend〉, 〈 홀크로프트 코버넌트 Holcroft Covenant〉, 〈아포칼립스 워치 The Apocalpse Watch〉, 〈본 아이덴티티(The Bourne Identity)〉, 〈본 슈프리머시 The Bourne Supremacy〉, 〈본 얼티메이텀 The Bourne Ultimatum〉. 맷 데이먼 주연의 본 시리즈 영화판은 원작과 상당히 달라지긴 했지만, 비평가와 대중들로부터 큰 호응을 받았다.

코네티컷주 소재 사제학교와 체셔 아카데미(Cheshire Academy), 그리고 웨슬리언 대학교(Wesleyan University) 졸업. 웨슬리언 대학시절 알파 델타 파이 협회(Alpha Delta Phi fraternity)에 가입. 작가로 입문하기 전에 연극배우와 제작자로 일했다. 2001년 경막하혈종으로 사망했다.

작풍과 반응 
그의 소설은 전형적인 데가 있다. 한 사람 또는 소수의 외로운 영웅적 집단이 권력을 가진 반대그룹이 좌지우지하는 정치, 경제적인 시스템에 저항한다는 식이다. 흔히 세계적 기업이나 군산복합체(軍産複合體), 정부조직이 현체제(status quo)를 유지하기 위해 권력을 행사한다. 종종 과거나 현재의 음모이론(Conspiracy theory)에 착안한 소설을 많이 썼다. 《마타레즈 서클》(The Matarese Circle)은 “3극 위원회”에 관한 소문을 듣고 쓴 작품이다. 작품 제목에 동일한 패턴을 사용했는데, 대명사(예컨대, ‘본’) 와 명사(예컨대, ‘아이덴티티’)를 결합하는 식이다.

작품 목록(일부)

생전에 본명으로 출판된 작품 
한글표기는 국내출간제명
 The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971)
 The Osterman Weekend (《오스터맨의 주말》, 1972)
 The Matlock Paper (1973)
 Trevayne (1973, Jonathan Ryder)
 The Cry of the Halidon (1974, Jonathan Ryder)
 The Rhinemann Exchange (1974)
 The Road to Gandolfo (1975, Michael Shephard)
 The Gemini Contenders (1976)
 The Chancellor Manuscript (1977)
 The Holcroft Covenant (1978)
 The Matarese Circle (1979) (《마타레즈 서클》,노블마인 2011)
 The Bourne Identity (1980) (《잃어버린 얼굴》,고려원 1980), (《본 아이덴티티》,문학동네 2011)
 The Parsifal Mosaic (《파시펄 모자이크》, 1982)
 The Aquitaine Progression (《거기에 강이 있었네》, 1984)
 The Bourne Supremacy (1986)
 The Icarus Agenda (《야망과 음모》, 1988)
 The Bourne Ultimatum (1990)
 The Road to Omaha (《오마하로 가는 길》, 1992)
 The Scorpio Illusion (《아마야 오키르》, 1993)
 The Apocalypse Watch (《파리의 묵시록》, 1995)
 The Matarese Countdown (1997)
 The Prometheus Deception (2000)

사후 출간 
다음 작품들은 (전부는 아니어도) 대부분 대필작가가 쓴 것들이다.
 The Sigma Protocol (2001)
 The Janson Directive (2002)
 The Tristan Betrayal (2003)
 The Ambler Warning (2005)
 The Bancroft Strategy (2006)

Covert-One 시리즈 
 The Hades Factor - 게일 린즈(Gayle Lynds)와 공저. (2000)
 The Cassandra Compact - 필립 셸비(Phillip Shelby)와 공저. (2001)
 The Paris Option - 게일 린즈(Gayle Lynds)와 공저. (2002)
 The Altman Code - 게일 린즈(Gayle Lynds)와 공저.(2003)
 The Lazarus Vendetta - 패트릭 라킨(Patrick Larkin)과 공저. (2004)
 The Moscow Vector - 패트릭 라킨(Patrick Larkin)과 공저. (2005)
 The Arctic Event - 제임스 코브(James H. Cobb)와 공저.(2007)
 The Infinity Affair - 제임스 코브(James H. Cobb)와 공저.(2011)
 The Ares Decision - 카일 밀스(Kyle Mills).(2011)

다른 작가에 의한 연작들 
 The Bourne Legacy - 에릭 밴 러스트베이더(Eric Van Lustbader). (2004)
 The Bourne Betrayal - 에릭 밴 러스트베이더(Eric Van Lustbader). (2007)
 The Bourne Sanction - 에릭 밴 러스트베이더(Eric Van Lustbader). (2008)
 The Bourne Deception - 에릭 밴 러스트베이더(Eric Van Lustbader). (2009)
 The Bourne Objective - 에릭 밴 러스트베이더(Eric Van Lustbader). (2010)
 The Bourne Dominion - 에릭 밴 러스트베이더(Eric Van Lustbader). (2011)
 The Bourne Upset - 에릭 밴 러스트베이더(Eric Van Lustbader). (2012)

영화 
많은 작품들이 영화나 미니시리즈로 만들어졌다. 원작으로부터 멀어진 것들이 대부분이지만 대체로 미니시리즈가 원작에 가깝게 제작되었다.
 1977년 - The Rhinemann Exchange — miniseries
 1983년 - The Osterman Weekend — film
 1985년 - The Holcroft Covenant — film
 1988년 - The Bourne Identity — miniseries ,제이슨 본에 리처드 체임벌린
 1997년 - The Apocalypse Watch — miniseries
 2002년 - The Bourne Identity — film, 제이슨 본에 맷 데이먼
 2004년 - The Bourne Supremacy — film, 제이슨 본에 맷 데이먼
 2006년 - Covert One: The Hades Factor — miniseries
 2007년 - The Bourne Ultimatum — film, 제이슨 본에 맷 데이먼
 2009년 - The Matarese Circle — film
 2009년 - The Chancellor Manuscript — film
 2012년 - The Bourne Legacy (에릭 밴 러스트베이더 作) - film, 애론 크로스역에 제러미 레너
 2013년 – The Matarese Circle — film, 브랜든 스코필드에 덴절 워싱턴
 2014년 – The Chancellor Manuscript — film, 피터 수상에 리어나도 디캐프리오

참조

외부 링크 
 
 네이버 캐스트
 1984 and 1986 audio interviews of Robert Ludlum by Don Swaim of CBS Radio, mp3 and RealAudio at Wired for Books.org
 Signature of Robert Ludlum
 Robert Ludlum Internet Book List.
 worldcat 러들럼 페이지 

미국의 소설가
뉴욕 출신
1927년 출생
2001년 사망
웨슬리언 대학교 동문
뉴욕 출신 작가
20세기 미국 사람
21세기 미국 사람