Remains potent, but too often his narratives lurch off into wildest melodrama. Dashiell Hammett is, of course, the great progenitor, and his contribution Vein (neither adjective is very cogent) of American mystery writing, Chandler is the one whose work has definitely settled on a high plateau of achievement. Of the three key figures in the ''realistic'' or ''hard-boiled'' It recognized,īy implication, the literary reality of crime writing at its most pungent, and it made the right choice for its representative. The Library of America publication was a happy one. These texts were edited knowledgeably by Frank MacShane, author of a solidly informative biography of Chandler two decades ago, and editor of Chandler's notebooks and correspondence. His 1944 screenplay for ''Double Indemnity'' a group of his essays on the arts and misdirections of detective fiction, including ''The Simple Art of Murder'' (1944) and a selection of his letters, They contain 13 of his short crime stories from Black Mask and elsewhere the seven novels featuring Philip Marlowe, from ''The Big Sleep'' (1939) to ''Playback'' (1958) More on Raymond Chandler from The New York Times ArchivesĪymond Chandler, who died in 1959 at the age of 70, is the first mystery writer to be honored by the Library of America, which brought out two well-packed volumes.The brilliant, troubled, alcoholic life of Raymond Chandler
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