Published in 1957 and set in the near future, Atlas Shrugged plots the collapse of American society after thinkers, industrialists, scientists, artists and other innovators — Rand’s kind of people — go on strike and disappear, refusing to contribute to a collectivist world. Dagny, a railroad heiress, tries to save the country from starvation and total collapse, while falling in love with the mysterious John Galt, who she later learns was the man who started the strike.

Atlas was a best seller. Six million copies have been sold over the years, and it remains a popular title, particularly among college students, according to Penguin Group, its publisher. Many of those copies wind up on shelves on Wall Street, where the book has been affectionately referred to as “the Bible of selfishness”.

In 1972, 15 years after the novel’s publication, Ruddy, fresh from producing The Godfather, decided to make a run at Rand. “Atlas Shrugged, let’s face it, was probably the most important novel of the 20th century that was never a film,” he said.

Rand’s agents warned him to expect rejection, he said, but reluctantly set up an appointment. He recalled meeting her in a room with one small love seat and many empty chairs. Ruddy, 6-foot-4, squeezed in next to the petite ageing writer on the small couch and commenced to woo her.

“I knew from Atlas Shrugged that she dug men, that she was a lusty woman,” he recalled in a telephone interview. “We start talking. It’s instant love.” Before long, he said, Rand was telling him, in her heavy accent, “I want you to do Atlas Shrugged.”

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