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Raymond Chandler

Author

Bio

Raymond Thornton Chandler (1888-1959) was the master practitioner of American hard-boiled crime fiction. Although he was born in Chicago, Chandler spent most of his boyhood and youth in England where he attended Dulwich College and later worked as a freelance journalist for The Westminster Gazette and The Spectator. During World War I, Chandler served in France with the First Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, transferring later to the Royal Flying Corps (R. A. F.). In 1919 he returned to the United States, settling in California, where he eventually became director of a number of independent oil companies. The Depression put an end to his career, and in 1933, at the age of forty-five, he turned to writing fiction, publishing his first stories in Black Mask. Chandler’s detective stories often starred the brash but honorable Philip Marlowe (introduced in 1939 in his first novel, The Big Sleep) and were noted for their literate presentation and dead-on critical eye. Never a prolific writer, Chandler published only one collection of stories and seven novels in his lifetime. Some of Chandler’s novels, like The Big Sleep, were made into classic movies which helped define the film noir style. In the last year of his life he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America. He died in La Jolla, California on March 26, 1959.

Raymond Chandler Books

Raymond Chandler Speaking book cover

Raymond Chandler Speaking

Raymond Chandler
Goldfish book cover

Goldfish

Raymond Chandler
The Annotated Big Sleep book cover

The Annotated Big Sleep

Raymond Chandler
The Big Sleep book cover

The Big Sleep

Raymond Chandler
The World of Raymond Chandler book cover

The World of Raymond Chandler

Raymond Chandler
The Raymond Chandler Papers book cover

The Raymond Chandler Papers

Tom Hiney
Playback: A Graphic Novel book cover

Playback: A Graphic Novel

Raymond Chandler
The Little Sister book cover

The Little Sister

Raymond Chandler
The Long Goodbye book cover

The Long Goodbye

Raymond Chandler
Playback book cover

Playback

Raymond Chandler
The Simple Art of Murder book cover

The Simple Art of Murder

Raymond Chandler
Trouble Is My Business book cover

Trouble Is My Business

Raymond Chandler
The Lady in the Lake book cover

The Lady in the Lake

Raymond Chandler
The High Window book cover

The High Window

Raymond Chandler
Farewell, My Lovely book cover

Farewell, My Lovely

Raymond Chandler
The Big Sleep book cover

The Big Sleep

Raymond Chandler
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