DLB 253: Raymond Chandler: A Documentary Volume (Dictionary of Literary Biography, 253)

DLB 253: 'Raymond Chandler: A Documentary Volume' chronicles the career of the author, from his days as an aspiring man of letters in London to his life as a professional novelist and literary celebrity. It is the story of an intriguing personality — a shy man who could be at turns kind and irascible; an American who was raised in England and instilled with Victorian moral values but found a home in the glamorous, decadent city of Los Angeles; a classically educated poet who took as his medium a popular form. Most of all, it is the story of a professional writer keenly devoted to his craft who, after long years of struggle and patient study of the literary markets, achieved commercial success and established an enduring reputation as a great American novelist. Plan of the Series xxi Introduction xxiii Acknowledgments xxv Permissions xxvi Books by Raymond Chandler 3 Raymond Chandler: A Chronology of His Career and Writings 5 1. Chandler Before the Pulps, 1888-1932 13 2. Apprenticeship and 'The Big Sleep', 1933-1939 46 3. Early Novels, 1939-1944: 'Farewell, My Lovely'; 'The High Window'; and 'The Lady in the Lake' 75 4. The Hollywood Years, 1943-1947 108 5. The Return of a Novelist, 1947-1952: 'The Little Sister' 163 6. The Last Years, 1952-1959: 'The Long Goodbye' and 'Playback' 203 7. Chandler's Popular and Literary Legacy 264 For Further Reading and Reference 329 Cumulative Index 335 Chronicles the career of Raymond Chandler from an aspiring man of letters in London to a professional novelist and literary celebrity who achieved commercial success and established an enduring reputation as a great American novelist. His novels are works of perceptive social realism that capture and interpret American life between 1939 and 1959. He wrote seven of the best novels in the American hard-boiled tradition, as well as lyrical and evocative prose