The place to look for the origins of the literary private eye is in 19th century France with the character of Eugene Francois Vidocq.
Archives: Phillip Marlowe
Readers track down more crimes against English; Ross Macdonald; newsletter, Jan. 19, 2018
January 22, 2018 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: newsletter.
This newsletter was sent to everyone on Jim’s email list (4,379) on Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. Hi, Winter has settled in in a big way in my part of the world. Plenty of time for indoor activities, the most important of which is reading. But that’s not the only one. Some writing and some painting • Read More »
Raymond Chandler: a troubled author who raised the level of hard-boiled detective fiction
January 10, 2018 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: fiction, journalism, Private eye.
Raymond Chandler brought a level of emotional complexity to his characters that had never been seen before in hard-boiled detective fiction.
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 »