 After Dashiell
Hammett formed the modern detective in hard-boiled private-eye fiction,
Raymond Thornton Chandler picked him up, gave him some class, and set him up as an
archetype that has lasted more than 65 years. Chandler was the Son to Hammett's Father in
the PI Holy Trinity. Ross Macdonald, the Holy
Ghost, added character depth and plot cohesiveness.Chandler made a concerted study of private eye fiction, even going so far as to re-write other authors' works to refine his craft. Much of Chandler's short fiction was published in "Black Mask." The editor at the time stressed short, punchy scenes and unique characters over convoluted plots, and Chandler obliged him. That's one reason for some of the less-than-stellar story lines in a lot of Chandler's earlier works. But, the guy wrote so well it wasn't obvious how bad his plots were. Many of his earlier novels, such as The High Window and The Lady in the Lake were reworks of short stories, often featuring protagonists other than Philip Marlowe. Chandler himself was a curious melding of Yank and Brit culture. He was born in Chicago on July 22, 1888, [making him six years older than his literary "father"] but moved with his mother to England as a very young child, were he was received a classic British public school education. Over there, "public" meant "private." Go figure. He dabbled in literature as a young man, producing a book of poetry while still in England. He became a naturalized British citizen in 1907 and returned to the US in 1912. He volunteered for service in the Canadian Army's Gordon Highlanders from 1917-18 and was transferred at his request to the Royal Air Force from 1918-19. He graduated from flight school too late to see action in WWI. After he came back to the US, he ran – eventually into the ground – one of the many fledgling oil companies in California. He married Pearl Cecily "Cissy" Hurlburt in 1924. She was a divorcee 18 years his senior. As with many of the great PI authors, his writing career began as a way to make some easy dough once his career as an oil company manager hit the skids. His first story "Blackmailers Don't Shoot," which took him five months to write, was published in 1933 in "Black Mask." Sadly, he followed Hammett's lead into the Hollywood snakepit where big money and too much booze reduced his talent and fiction output. His beloved Cissy died in 1954 and he spiraled down into a bitter and alcoholic life. He died of pneumonia on March 26, 1959, at the age of 70 at the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California.
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| The Novels | |
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The Big Sleep
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Farewell, My Lovely © 1940
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The High Window © 1942
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The Lady in the
Lake © 1943
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The Little Sister © 1949
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The Long Goodbye © 1953
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Playback © 1958
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Poodle Springs unfinished by Chandler; completed by Robert B. Parker © 1989
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| Short Fiction | |
| Many of Chandler's novels began life as short fiction. Other efforts remained in their original form. As with many successful authors, Chandler's short fiction has been compiled in a variety of collections. Currently, there are three primary collections that help round-out Chandler's output. | |
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The Simple Art of Murder
The Simple Art of Murder, An Essay
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Killer In the Rain Killer
In the Rain
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Trouble Is My Business
Introduction
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Pickup On Noon Street
Pickup On Noon Street
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