Raymond Chandler brought a level of emotional complexity to his characters that had never been seen before in hard-boiled detective fiction.
Archives: hard-boiled
The ‘private eye,’ in the beginning: Dashiell Hammett
December 27, 2017 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: journalism, Private eye, writers, writing.
Dashiell Hammett knew what a private detective should be. He knew because he had been one, and he had been taught by the very best. Born in Maryland in 1894, Hammett had failed at most everything he tried in the first two decades of his life. Intelligent, tall, and handsome, he did not finish school, • Read More »
Trouble is their business: the ‘private eye’ and the writers who created them
December 21, 2017 | By Jim Stovall | 2 Comments | Filed in: Private eye, writers, writing.
The opening scene of Raymond Chandler’s story Trouble is My Business tells you a lot in a very few words about Chandler’s “private eye,” Phillip Marlowe. Marlow is talking to a woman who runs a detective agency, a big one with several agents. But none of her people is suitable for the job she has. • Read More »