Ludlum was born in New York City. He was educated at The Rectory School then Cheshire Academy and Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. While at Wesleyan, Ludlum joined the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. Prior to becoming an author, he had been a United States Marine, 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."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, The Hades Factor, has also been made into a mini-series. 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.

Ludlum died in 2001 in Naples, Florida of a heart attack.

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 to include accurate technical, geographical, and biological details, including the research on amnesia for The Bourne Identity. Having said that there are errors in The Prometheus Deception for example, where he refers to the "English" Foreign Secretary - when it should be either UK or British Foreign Secretary.

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 isolated bands of ideologically motivated extremists.

Ludlum uses the same fixed titling pattern of The Proper Noun] [Noun] for most of his books. Subsequent to his death, books written by other authors have carried the phrase Robert LudlumTM on their covers, thus asserting the name Robert Ludlum as a trademark. The actual author (not technically a ghost writer) is identified inside.

By Ludlum, published during the author's lifetime

• 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 Shepherd)
• 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

• The Sigma Protocol (2001, the last novel written entirely by Ludlum)
• The Janson Directive (2002)
• The Tristan Betrayal (2003)
• The Ambler Warning (2005)
• The Bancroft Strategy (2006)

Covert-One series

Written by other authors.

• The Hades Factor (by Gayle Lynds) (2000)
• The Cassandra Compact (by Philip 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 H. Cobb) (2007)
• The Infinity Affair (by James H. Cobb) (2011)

Sequels to Ludlum books

• The Bourne Legacy (by Eric Van Lustbader) (2004)
• The Bourne Betrayal (by Eric Van Lustbader) (2007)
• The Bourne Sanction (by Eric Van Lustbader) (2008)
• The Bourne Deception (by Eric Van Lustbader) (2009)
• The Bourne Objective (by Eric Van Lustbader) (2010)

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 on which it is based.

• 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 - The Hades Factor ... miniseries ... Stephen Dorff as Jon Smith
• 2007 - The Bourne Ultimatum ... film ... Matt Damon as Jason Bourne
• 2011 - The Chancellor Manuscript ... film ... Leonardo DiCaprio as Peter Chancellor1
• 2013 - The Matarese Circle ... film ... Denzel Washington as Brandon Scofield1

1 announced/in development