Raymond Chandler [1888-1959] at BlackHat Mystery Bookstore

Raymond Thornton Chandler was born in Chicago, Illinois on 23 July 1888, but grew up in England. He attended public schools and then studied writing at Dulwich College, London, and also in France & Germany. He became a naturalized British citizen in 1907 in order to work in civil service, but resigned after 6 months and worked as a newspaper reporter. He published 27 poems and his first story, "The Rose Leaf Romance". In 1912, he returned to the U.S., working mostly in Los Angeles, until the outbreak of W.W.I. He joined the Gordon Highlanders, then transferred to the British Royal Air Force. Back in the U.S. in 1919, he worked at a bank, then a newspaper, then at Dabney Oil Syndicate in Los Angeles, beginning in 1922.

In 1924 he married divorcee Cissy Hurlburt, 18 years older than he was. The oil company fired him for drinking and absenteeism in 1932. Under Cissy's support, he devoted himself to writing from 1933. He studied the pulp magazines, especially writer Erle Stanley Gardner, and published his first story "Blackmailers Don't Shoot" in the December 1933 issue of Black Mask Magazine. His character Philip Marlowe first appeared in the story "Killer In The Rain", which later formed part of the novel "The Big Sleep" (1939).

Chandler met with some success writing for Hollywood – "And Now Tomorrow" (1944), "Double Indemnity" with Billy Wilder (1944), "The Unseen" (1945), "The Blue Dahlia" original script (1946), and "Strangers On A Train" for Alfred Hitchcock (1951).

Chandler and Cissy moved to 6005 Camino de la Costa in La Jolla (north of San Diego in California) in 1946, where he continued writing while taking care of his beloved wife, who suffered from fibrosis of the lungs. She died 12 December 1954, an event which essentially broke his heart. Two months after her death, he attempted suicide, which was reported widely; the bullet caused major damage to the bathroom. He went into a slow decline, though he is said to have had a romantic interest in his secretary, Jean Fracasse, and later was preparing to marry his agent, Helga Green, when he died of pneumonia 26 March 1959 at the age of 70. Only 17 people attended his funeral.

Chris Vandenbroucke of Kortrijk, Belgium
has a 1500-item Raymond Chandler collection for sale [Feb 2011]
photos on Flickr {in English} • non-English website
this website shares no responsibility in this matter,
which is coded here for the interest of visitors only

"The Midnight Raymond Chandler" [1971]
contains two complete novels: "The Little Sister" [1949] and "The Long Goodbye" [1955];
four short stories: "Blackmailers Don't Shoot" (1933), "Red Wind" (1938), "Trouble Is My Business" (1939), and "The Pencil" (1959); and Chandler's essay "The Simple Art of Murder" (1944)
Houghton Mifflin pb [6/71] out of print/many used
Houghton Mifflin hardcover [6/71] out of print/used

Everyman's Library Editions

	Raymond Chandler: Three Novels [2002] "Big Sleep"; "Farewell, My Lovely"; "High Window" Knopf 8¼x5½ hardcover [10/2002] for $19.25
	Raymond Chandler: Four Novels [2002] "The Lady In The Lake"; "The Little Sister"; "The Long Goodbye"; "Playback" Knopf 8¼x5½ hardcover [10/2002] for $21.00
	"Collected Stories: All of Raymond Chandler's Short Fiction In One Volume For The First Time [2002] Knopf 8¼x5½ hardcover [10/2002] for $19.25 25 classic short stories: "Bay City Blues", "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", "The Bronze Door", "The Curtain", "English Summer", "Finger Man", "Goldfish", "Guns At Cyrano's", "I'll Be Waiting", "Killer In The Rain", "The King In Yellow", "The Lady In The Lake", "The Man Who Liked Dogs", "Mandarin's Jade", "Nevada Gas", "No Crime In The Mountains", "Pearls Are A Nuisance", "The Pencil", "Pickup On Noon Street", "Professor Bingo's Snuff", "Red Wind", "Smart-Aleck Kill", "Spanish Blood", "Trouble Is My Business", and "Try The Girl"

Library of America Editions

	Raymond Chandler: Stories & Early Novels [1995] Edited by Frank McShane "Big Sleep"; "Farewell, My Lovely"; "High Window" Library of America 8x5 hardcover [10/95] for $24.50
	Raymond Chandler: Later Novels & Other Writings [1995] Edited by Frank McShane "Lady In The Lake"; "Little Sister"; "Long Goodbye"; "Playback" Library of America 8x5 hardcover [10/95] for $24.50
	"Raymond Chandler: The Library of America 75th Anniversary Edition" [2014] Library of America 8½x5½x3-inch slipcover set [3/2014] for $49.42 All seven Philip Marlowe novels, thirteen classic pulp stories, Chandler’s brilliant screenplay for "Double Indemnity", and a selection of his revealing essays & letters - 'the most comprehensive edition of the hard-boiled crime fiction of Raymond Chandler ever published'

BLUE CHECK: listed #34 on U.K. Telegraph Best 100 Novels (8/2014)

RED CHECK: listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Novels (10/2005)

"The Big Sleep" [1939]
book entry at Wikipedia

Oil magnate General Sternwood hires P.I. Philip Marlowe to stop supposed bookseller Geiger from blackmailing Sternwood's wild daughter Carmen; as Marlowe leaves, daughter Vivian Sternwood quizzes Marlowe about whether he was hired to find her recently-missing ex-husband, Rusty Regan. Marlowe finds that Geiger's bookstore is a pornography-on-loan racket, follows Geiger to his Laurel Canyon home and waits outside. Upon hearing shots and a woman's scream, Marlowe breaks into the house and finds Geiger dead on the floor and Carmen stark naked in a chair, drugged up on ether and laudanum. He takes Carmen home but doesn't call police, then returns to the house to find that Geiger's body is gone. Next morning, a policeman friend takes Marlowe to the beach to view the body of Sternwood's chauffeur, who drove off the end of a pier (or was killed first). Back at the bookstore, the books are being removed and taken to the apartment of Joe Brody. At Marlowe's office, Vivian informs him that a woman is asking for blackmail for some photos taken of Carmen. At Geiger's house, Marlowe finds Carmen searching for the photos; they are interrupted by local gangster Eddie Mars, who says he is Geiger's landlord. Marlowe visits Brody and persuades him to turn over the photos, then Carmen bursts in and wildly shoots at Brody; Marlowe gets her gun and tells her to go home to her sister. Another caller arrives, Brody answers the door and is shot dead; Marlowe follows and captures Lundgren who was Geiger's homosexual lover and blamed Brody for Geiger's death. Marlowe takes Lundgren to his cop friend for Brody's murder . . . {The rest is kinda complicated.}

"Farewell, My Lovely" [1940]
book entry at Wikipedia

The beginning is a chance encounter in South Central Los Angeles with obtuse giant ex-con Moose Malloy, just released from eight years in prison. Moose is looking for Velma, a dish who sang at Florian's Nightclub, now managed by a Negro who knows nothing about Velma. Moose causually shoots the manager and flees; Marlowe stays, and the cops suggest that Marlowe find Velma. He locates Florian's widow, who insists that Velma is dead. Later that day, nervous Lindsay Marriott hires Marlowe as bodyguard for the payment of $8,000 as ransom for a jade necklace; at the remote canyon drop-off point, Marlowe is knocked out, Marriott is killed, and reporter Anne Riordan takes Marlowe to a phone to call police. Marlowe learns that the necklace belongs to the beautiful young wife of elderly millionaire Grayle. Later events include visiting a crooked psychic, a beating by crooked cops in Bay City {Santa Monica}, escape from an insane asylum, and discovery of the murder of Florian's widow. Marlowe leaves a message for Moose that he has information about Velma, and goes home to his Hollywood apartment. Moose wakes Marlowe from a nap, Mrs. Grayle arrives (and Moose hides in the next room) to convince Marlowe to stop his investigation. She admits that the ransom deal was a setup to kill Marlowe, because revealing her past as Velma would jeopardize her marriage. Moose steps out and she shoots him and flees.

"The High Window" [1942]
book entry at Wikipedia
A wealthy widow hires Marlowe to find a coin missing from her husband's collection, insisting that she believes her daughter-in-law
is responsible for the theft. Developments include an ungrateful son, a hysterical secretary, several corpses, and blackmail.

"The Lady In The Lake" [1943]
book entry at Wikipedia

Wealthy businessman Kingsley's wife is missing, and he hires Marlowe to prevent possible scandal. Her last contact was a telegram from El Paso, Texas demanding a divorce so that she can marry former boyfriend Lavery. But Lavery has not seen her, has not been to El Paso, and would not marry the woman anyway. Marlowe tracks the woman to the Little Fawn Lake mountain resort {Lake Arrowhead}, where Kingley owns a cabin. Caretaker Bill Chess is in an alcoholic daze, and when he and Marlowe walk around a nearby pond, they discover the body of Chess's missing wife, who disappeared about the same time as Mrs. Kingsley. Local cops arrest Chess; though Marlowe believes him innocent, he returns to Los Angeles. Marlowe finds Lavery in Bay City {Santa Monica} and leaving the interview, is braced by tough cop Degarmo. Marlowe pays a return visit to Lavery and finds him shot to death in the bathroom. Kingsley offers Marlowe a big bonus to prove that his wife did not kill ex-lover Lavery. The Bay City cops frame Marlowe on a drunk driving charge and beat him up, but Marlowe convinces the reform-minded police chief of the frame, and he is turned loose. Kingsley receives a phone call from his wife, begging for $500; he asks Marlowe to deliver it. Marlowe recognizes her as the woman outside Lavery's rented house and accuses her of the murder; she pulls a gun and someone saps Marlowe with a blackjack. When Marlowe wakes up, he is stinking with gin and the woman is naked, bloodied and strangled on the bed; Marlowe almost escapes the trap, but is arrested by Degarmo, who wants to arrest Kingsley for the murder of his wife. Marlowe convinces Degarmo that they can find proof up at the cabin, where Marlowe explains the series of murders, including that Degarmo killed the woman back in Bay City, his ex-wife; Degarmo tries to flee but is killed by the rural cops.

"The Little Sister" [1949]
book entry at Wikipedia
A mousy young woman from Kansas hires Marlowe to find her brother, who stopped writing home soon after arriving in Los Angeles
to take a job at an aircraft plant. Two leads turn up with ice picks in their necks, blackmail photos lead to movie star Mavis Wald,
and her gangster boyfriend warns Marlowe off the case.

"The Long Goodbye" [1953]
book entry at Wikipedia

Book won Edgar Award for Best Novel, 1955. Marlowe's friend Terry Lennox asks for a ride across the border to Mexico. When Marlowe returns, the police are waiting for him, asking questions about the bludgeon murder of Terry's wife. Marlowe is arrested as material witness, but released in three days when Mexican authorities report Lennox's suicide with full confession in a note. A New York publisher tries to hire Marlowe to find an L.A. writer missing for several days, then the writer's wife also asks for help; Marlowe finds the man in a bogus detox 'ranch', and is hired to keep the writer working and not drinking - when drunk, he attempts suicide by various means. Meanwhile, a series of people warn Marlowe off the Lennox case, including the writer's wife. The writer cajole's Marlowe into having lunch, proceeds to get roaring drunk, and finally succeeds in killing himself. Marlowe bullies the publisher into taking him along to see the widow; Marlowe accuses her of killing her husband and Lennox's wife (who were having an affair). Next day, Marlowe learns that the widow killed herself after writing a confession. Marlowe is assaulted by a friend of Lennox, who is then arrested by a cop; both men served with Lennox during the war. Marlowe meets with a Mexican man who says that he saw Lennox's body, but Marlowe doesn't buy it – Marlowe has concluded that his visitor is Lennox himself, after cosmetic surgery as disguise.

"Playback" [1958]
book entry at Wikipedia

Marlowe is hired in a rush to meet a woman arriving on the Super Chief and to follow her. She lands in the beach town of Esmeralda {La Jolla}, south of Los Angeles. Marlowe uncovers the woman's backstory: she was married to a war vet who suffered a broken neck, and when the man died, was found to be putting the brace back on the body. She was convicted by a jury under the influence of the victim's family, then acquitted by the judge. The victim's bitter and wealthy father vowed to hound the woman, so she fled to California, knowing only the town of Esmeralda where she was raised. When the blackmailer who recognized her on the train is killed and the body dumped on her balcony, she asks Marlowe for help. The local cops are understanding, and help Marlowe scare off the old man. The woman decides to accept an offer of marriage from an old pal, a 'retired' gangster; Marlowe accepts her decision but warns the gangster to cease his old ways, such as having the blackmailer killed.

	"Trouble Is My Business" [Philip Marlowe stories 1950] includes "Finger Man" (1934, Philip Marlowe), "Goldfish" (1936), "Red Wind" (1938), and "Trouble Is My Business" (1939) Vintage/Black Lizard 8x5 pb [8/92] for $8.00 UNABR audio CD read by Elliott Gould [5/2002] out of prodn/used
	"The Simple Art of Murder" [1950] includes essay "The Simple Art of Murder" (1945), stories "Spanish Blood" (1935, Sam Delaguerra), "The King In Yellow" (1938, Steve Grayce), "I'll Be Waiting" (1939, Tony Reseck), and "Pearls Are A Nuisance" (1939, Walter Gage) Vintage/Black Lizard 8x5 pb [9/88] for $10.40

"Pearls Are A Nuisance" [1953]
intro by Raymond Chandler, stories "Finger Man" (1934, Philip Marlowe), "The King In Yellow" (1938, Steve
Grayce), "Pearls Are A Nuisance" (1939, Walter Gage), and "The Simple Art of Murder" essay (1945)

"Pick-up On Noon Street" [1953]
includes "Smart-Aleck Kill" (1934, John Dalmas), "Nevada Gas" (1935, hood Johnny DeRuse),
"Guns At Cyrano's" (1936, Ted Carmady), and "Pick-up On Noon Street" (1936, Pete Anglich)

"Smart-Aleck Kill" [1953]
includes "Smart-Aleck Kill" (1934, John Dalmas), "Nevada Gas" (1935, hood Johnny DeRuse),
"Spanish Blood" (1935, Sam Delaguerra), and "Pick-up On Noon Street" (1936, Pete Anglich)

Visiting this webpage from outside the U.S.A.? It is possible to make purchases from these coded Amazon (USA) links
via other Amazon sites: just follow these instructions.

	Kindle Edition from Vintage/Black Lizard/Random House [2002 edition] for $11.99 Penguin mass pb [2014] for $8.78 Vintage Crime/Black Lizard 8x5¼ pb [7/88] for $11.87 North Point/ImPress Mystery 8½x5½ hardcover [9/2002] out of print/used audio read by Elliott Gould New Millenium Audio CD [3/2002] for $27.96 Dove Audio UNABRIDGED [9/93] out of prodn/used Dove Audio ABRIDGED [9/93] out of prodn/used Spanish-language edition "El Sueño Eterno" Alianza pb [6/2005] for $12.95
	"The Annotated Big Sleep" [2018] Edited by Owen Hill, Pamela Jackson & Anthony Dean Rizzuto, Foreword by Jonathan Lethem Kindle Edition from Vintage/Black Lizard/Random House [7/2018] for $12.99 Vintage Crime/Black Lizard 9¼x6¾ pb [7/2018] for $17.00
	1946 movie directed by Howard Hawks Script by Leigh Brackett, William Faulkner & Jules Furthman; starring Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall; listed in National Film Registry 1997 Warner both-version b&w DVD [2/2000] for $6.87 Warner 114-min. b&w 'theatrical release' VHS [3/2000] for $14.95 Warner 135-min. b&w 1945 'pre-release version' VHS [3/2000] out of prodn/used M.G.M./Warner 114-min. b&w VHS [9/99] for $2.49 M.G.M./Warner 114-min. b&w VHS [1/99] for $3.48 full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia watch official trailer [1:48] at YouTube
	1978 color feature film from United Artists Set in 1970s Britain; adapted & directed by Michael Winner; starring Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, Richard Boone, Candy Clark, Joan Collins, Edward Fox, John Mills, James Stewart, Oliver Reed, Harry Andrews, Colin Blakely, John Justin & Richard Todd Pioneer color DVD [8/2000] out of stock/used Artisan color VHS [11/99] for $9.98 full credits from IMDb

	Vintage 8x5 pb [8/92] for $8.80 UNABR audio CD read by Elliott Gould [3/2002] out of prodn/used UNABR audio read by Elliott Gould [3/2002] out of prodn/used Spanish-language edition "Adios, Muñeca" Emeci & Bronce 8½x5½ pb [1/2004] for $12.95 Alianza pb [6/2005] for $15.95
	"The Falcon Takes Over" [1942 movie based on 'FML'] full credits from IMDb
	"Murder, My Sweet" [1944 movie based on 'FML'] Directed by Edward Dmytryk; starring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor & Mike Mazurki R.K.O. Radio Pictures b&w DVD [7/2004] for $14.99 R.K.O. Radio Pictures b&w VHS [11/96] out of prodn/many used full credits at IMDb hour-long radio broadcast on "Lux Hollywood Theatre" 11 June 1946 listen online [59:11] at Internet Archive
	"Farewell, My Lovely" feature film [AVCO/Embassy 1975] Directed by Dick Richards; starring Robert Mitchum & Charlotte Rampling Artisan color VHS [11/99] out of prodn/used Avid color VHS [11/97] out of prodn/used Pioneer color DVD [6/99] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb

	Vintage 8x5¼ pb [8/88] for $10.75 Vintage 8x5¼ pb [8/76] out of print/many used audio read by Elliott Gould [1/88] out of prodn/used
	1947 b&w feature film from M.G.M. Directed by & starring Robert Montgomery [in first person POV] with Audrey Totter Warner b&w VHS [4/91] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb available on DVD only as part of "Warner Bros. Film Noir Classic Collection, Volume 3" Warner DVD [7/2006] 7 disks for $31.25

	Vintage 8x5 pb [9/88] for $8.80 Spanish-language edition "La Hermana Pequena": Alianza mass pb [6/2001] for $18.95
	"Little Sister" [1997 graphic novel] Illustrated by Michael Lark Fireside 10x6½ pb [5/97] out of print/used Spanish-language edition "La Hermana Pequena": Public Square Books 9¾x6¼ pb [8/2005] for $15.61
	"Marlowe" [1969 movie based on "Little Sister"] Directed by Paul Bogart; script by Stirling Silliphant; starring James Garner, Gayle Hunnicut & Sharon Farrell Warner color VHS [3/2002] for $14.94 full credits at IMDb

	Kindle Edition from Vintage/Random House [2002 edition] for $9.12 Vintage 8x5 pb [8/92] for $9.60 Houghton Mifflin/BOMC 8¼x5¼ hardcover [1954] out of print/used New Millennium Audio ABR audio read by Elliott Gould [3/2002] out of prodn/used Spanish-language edition "El Largo Adios" Alianza 7x4½ pb [6/2005] out of print/used
	1973 feature film directed by Robert Altman [1925-2006] Script by Leigh Brackett, based on Chandler's novel; starring Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell, Henry Gibson, David Arkin & Jim Bouton Region 1 Blu-ray not available M.G.M. widescreen color DVD [9/2002] for $51.98 MGM/UA color VHS [5/91] for $7.98 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia

	Vintage 8x5 pb [9/88] for $8.00 audio read by Elliott Gould New Millenium ABR audio [5/2002] for $12.60 New Millenium ABR audio CD [5/2002] for $20.97
	"Raymond Chandler's Unknown Thriller: The Screenplay of Playback" [1985] with an Introduction by Robert B. Parker Grand Central/Mysterious Press pb [6/87] out of print/used Grand Central/Mysterious Press hardcover [7/85] out of print/used
	"Playback: A Graphic Novel" [2006] Adapted by Ted Benoit, illustrated by François Ayroles Arcade Publng 11½x9 hardcover [7/2006] for $12.97

	"Collected Stories: All of Raymond Chandler's Short Fiction In One Volume For The First Time" [25 stories; 2002] Knopf 8¼x5¼ hardcover [10/2002] for $22.68
	"Raymond Chandler's Marlowe: The Authorized Philip Marlowe Graphic Novel" [2003] Illustrated by Tom DeHaven, James Rose & Jerome Charyn includes short stories "Goldfish" (1936), "Trouble Is My Business" (1939), and "The Pencil" (1959) ibooks 10¼x6½ pb [8/2005] for $16.16 ibooks 10¼x6¾ pb [9/2003] out of prodn/used

	"Finger Man" [story 1934, book 1946] "A redhead, a roulette wheel, and murder a la Chandler" Avon #216 mass pb [1950] collectible view larger image {in new window}
	"Spanish Blood" [5 stories, 1946] "Adventure, love, and terror in five great crime stories by the author of The High Window" World Publng Co. 8x5 hardcover [1946] out of print/many used

BlackHat Mystery BookstoreRaymond Chandler [1888-1959]

BlackHat Mystery Bookstore
Raymond Chandler
[1888-1959]