Books by Raymond Chandler
Born: 07/23/1888; Died: 03/26/1959Raymond Chandler Biography & Notes
Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 - March 26, 1959) was an American author of crime stories and novels. His influence on modern crime fiction has been immense, particularly in the writing style and attitudes that much of the field has adopted over the last 60 years.
Chandler was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1888, but moved to Britain in 1895 when his parents divorced. He entered Dulwich College in 1900, and was naturalised as a British citizen in 1907 in order to take the Civil Service exam. He passed the exam and took a job at the Admiralty, where he worked for just over a year. His first poem was published during this time. After leaving the Civil Service, Chandler worked as a jobbing journalist, and continued to write poetry in the late Romantic style.
Chandler returned to the U.S. in 1912 and trained as a bookkeeper and accountant. In 1917, he enlisted in the Canadian Army and fought in France. After the armistice he moved to Los Angeles and began an affair with an older woman (Cissy Pascal), whom he later married. By 1932 Chandler had attained a vice-presidency at Dabney Oil Syndicate but lost this well-paying job as a result of his alcoholism.
He taught himself to write pulp fiction in an effort to draw an income from his creative talents, and his first story was published in Black Mask in 1933. His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939.
Chandler worked as a Hollywood screenwriter following the success of his novels, working with Billy Wilder on James M. Cain's novel Double Indemnity (1944), and writing his only original screenplay, The Blue Dahlia (1946).
Cissy died in 1954 and Chandler, heartbroken and suffering from a painful nervous disease, turned once again to drink. His writing suffered in quality and quantity, and he attempted suicide in 1955.
He died in 1959 of pneumonia.
Chandler's finely wrought prose was widely admired by critics and writers from W.H. Auden, Evelyn Waugh to Ian Fleming. Although his swift-moving, hardboiled style was inspired largely by Dashiell Hammett, his use of lyrical similes in this context was quite original. Turns of phrase such as "The minutes went by on tiptoe, with their fingers to their lips" (The Lady in the Lake, 1943) , have become characteristic of private-eye fiction, and he has given his name to the critical term Chandleresque. His style is also the subject of innumerable parodies and pastiches.
Chandler was also a perceptive critic of pulp fiction, and his essay "The Simple Art of Murder" is a standard academic reference.
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Chandler was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1888, but moved to Britain in 1895 when his parents divorced. He entered Dulwich College in 1900, and was naturalised as a British citizen in 1907 in order to take the Civil Service exam. He passed the exam and took a job at the Admiralty, where he worked for just over a year. His first poem was published during this time. After leaving the Civil Service, Chandler worked as a jobbing journalist, and continued to write poetry in the late Romantic style.
Chandler returned to the U.S. in 1912 and trained as a bookkeeper and accountant. In 1917, he enlisted in the Canadian Army and fought in France. After the armistice he moved to Los Angeles and began an affair with an older woman (Cissy Pascal), whom he later married. By 1932 Chandler had attained a vice-presidency at Dabney Oil Syndicate but lost this well-paying job as a result of his alcoholism.
He taught himself to write pulp fiction in an effort to draw an income from his creative talents, and his first story was published in Black Mask in 1933. His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939.
Chandler worked as a Hollywood screenwriter following the success of his novels, working with Billy Wilder on James M. Cain's novel Double Indemnity (1944), and writing his only original screenplay, The Blue Dahlia (1946).
Cissy died in 1954 and Chandler, heartbroken and suffering from a painful nervous disease, turned once again to drink. His writing suffered in quality and quantity, and he attempted suicide in 1955.
He died in 1959 of pneumonia.
Chandler's finely wrought prose was widely admired by critics and writers from W.H. Auden, Evelyn Waugh to Ian Fleming. Although his swift-moving, hardboiled style was inspired largely by Dashiell Hammett, his use of lyrical similes in this context was quite original. Turns of phrase such as "The minutes went by on tiptoe, with their fingers to their lips" (The Lady in the Lake, 1943) , have become characteristic of private-eye fiction, and he has given his name to the critical term Chandleresque. His style is also the subject of innumerable parodies and pastiches.
Chandler was also a perceptive critic of pulp fiction, and his essay "The Simple Art of Murder" is a standard academic reference.
Suggestions or corrections for the editor? Click here.
Suggestions or corrections for the editor? Click here.
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'Tote Schlafen Fest' 'The Big Sleep' by Raymond Chandler, Hans-Werner Ludwig, Howard Hawks ( 1981) |
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Adios, muneca/ Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler ( 2007) |
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All That Glitters The Crime and the Cover-up by Raymond Chandler ( 2004) |
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Asesino bajo la lluvia y otros relatos/ Killer in the Rain and other Tales by Raymond Chandler ( 2002) |
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The Australian Love Letters of Raymond Chandler by Raymond Chandler, Alan Close, Deirdre Gartrell ( 1995) |
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Bay City Blues & No Crime in the Mountains by Raymond Chandler ( 1997)
In 'No Crime In The Mountains' proceeds with an investigation despite the fact that his client, who had sent a retainer with his request for a meeting, turns up at the appointed place dead. 'I had a hundred dollars to earn, after all.' With a deceased gambler for a client, Evans should probably take it to heart when the constable of Puma Point, a tourist community, assures him that there's 'mightly little inducement to crime in the mountains.' But of course he doesn't and a case that begins with a few counterfeit bills unfolds into a series of murders with a Nazi connection. 'A night like this, ' says the constable, 'and it's got to be full of death.'
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Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler ( 1992)
Chandler's first novel introduces us to Philip Marlowe, a 38 year old private detective moving through the seamy side of Los Angeles in the 1930's's.
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The Big Sleep & Farewell My Lovely & Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler ( 1995)
These two classic novels featuring private eye Philip Marlowe made Raymond Chandlers name synonymous with Americas hard-boiled school of crime fiction. The Big Sleep was an instant success when first published in 1939. It centers around a paralyzed California millionaire with two psychopathic daughters; he involves Marlowe in a case of blackmail that turns into murder.Farewell My Lovely, which Chandler regarded as his finest work, came out the following year. It has Marlowe dealing with the Los Angeles gambling circuit, a murder he stumbles upon, and three very beautiful but potentially deadly women."Chandler writes like a slumming angel and invests the sun-blinded streets of Los Angeles with a romantic presence," said Ross Macdonald. And George V. Higgins wrote: "Chandler is fun to read. He's as bleak as tundra, and his dirtbag characters far outnumber his stellar citizens, but Philip Marlowe is a laconic tour guide through a zoo of truly interesting animals."
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The Big Sleep & The High Window (Dramatized) by Raymond Chandler ( )
Ed Bishop stars as Philip Marlowe in these powerfully atmospheric BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of Raymond Chandler's novels about the cynical, world-weary, wise-cracking shamus whose honesty in a dishonest world sent him down the mean streets again and again in search of some kind of justice.
The Big Sleep The High Window |
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The Big Sleep ; [and], The High Window ; [and], The Lady in the Lake ; [and], The Long Goodbye ; [and], Playback ; [and], Farewell My Lovely by Raymond Chandler ( 1977) |
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The Big Sleep/Farewell, My Lovely/the High Window Farewell, My Lovely ; The High Window by Raymond Chandler ( 2002)
Raymond Chandler’s first three novels, published here in one volume, established his reputation as an unsurpassed master of hard-boiled detective fiction. THE BIG SLEEP, Chandler's first novel, introduces Philip Marlowe, a private detective inhabiting the seamy side of Los Angeles in the 1930s, as he takes on a case involving a paralyzed California millionaire, two psychotic daughters, blackmail, and murder. In FAREWELL, MY LOVELY, Marlowe deals with the gambling circuit, a murder he stumbles upon, and three very beautiful but potentially deadly women. In THE HIGH WINDOW, Marlowe searches the California underworld for a priceless gold coin and finds himself deep in the tangled affairs of a dead coin collector.
In all three novels, Chandler’s hard-edged prose, colorful characters, vivid vernacular, and above all his enigmatic loner of a hero, enduringly establish his claim not only to the heights of his chosen genre but to the pantheon of literary art. |
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The Blue Dahlia by Raymond Chandler ( 1986) |
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The Blue Dahlia A Screenplay by Raymond Chandler ( 1976)
Written in 1946, this screenplay won an Edgar for Raymond Chandler.
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Chandler Before Marlowe Raymond Chandlers Early Prose and Poetry, 1908-1912 by Raymond Chandler ( 1973)
Poems, essays, and sketches exhibit the early literary styles and themes of the American author who popularized the detective story.
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Collected Stories by Raymond Chandler ( 2002)
The only complete edition of stories by the undisputed master of detective literature, collected here for the first time in one volume, including some stories that have been unavailable for decades.
When Raymond Chandler turned to writing at the age of forty-five, he began by publishing stories in pulp magazines such as Black Mask before later writing his famous novels. These stories are where Chandler honed his art and developed his uniquely vivid underworld, peopled with good cops and bad cops, informers and extortionists, lethally predatory blondes and redheads, and crime, sex, gambling, and alcohol in abundance. In addition to his classic hard-boiled stories—in which his signature atmosphere of depravity and violence swirls around the cool, intuitive loners whose type culminated in the famous detective Philip Marlowe—Chandler also turned his hand to fantasy and even a gothic romance. This rich treasury of 25 stories shows Chandler developing the terse, laconic, understated style that would serve him so well in his later masterpieces, and immerses the reader in the richly realized fictional universe that has become an enduring part of our literary landscape. |
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Dama En El Lago (1943) by Raymond Chandler ( 2003) |
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Daylight Noir Raymond Chandlier's Imaginde City by Raymond Chandler ( 2009) |
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Double Indemnity by Raymond Chandler, Jeffrey Meyers, Billy Wilder ( 2000) |
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Farewell My Lovely (Dramatized) by Raymond Chandler ( )
Ed Bishop stars as Philip Marlowe in these powerfully atmospheric BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of Raymond Chandler's novels about the cynical, world-weary, wise-cracking shamus whose honesty in a dishonest world sent him down the mean streets again and again in search of some kind of justice.
At six feet five, Moose Malloy was as inconspicuous as a tarantula on angel food and about as dangerous. But Marlowe never was the kind of guy to walk away from trouble when it slapped him in the face, and Moose's girl had disappeared, a mere eight years ago. All Marlowe had to do was find her. |
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Farewell My Lovely/2 Cassettes by Raymond Chandler ( 1985) |
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Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler ( 1992)
Philip Marlowe deals with Los Angeles' gambling circuit, a murder he stumbles upon and three very beautiful but potentially deadly women.
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Farewell, My Lovely, and the Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler ( 1984)
In this second Philip Marlowe novel, the detective is more fleshed-out and well-drawn. Chandler expanded Marlowe's trademark irreverence and wise-guy remakrs, and in "Farewell, My Lovely" Marlowe is more well-intentioned. Taking on the case of Moose Malloy, wrongly imprisoned for robbery, Marlowe must also find Malloy's love Velma, who disappeared when Malloy was imprisoned eight years before. Also Marlowe must come to terms with his feelings for Anne Riordan, who is assisting him with the case.
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Farewell, My Lovely/Audio Cassettes by Elliott Gould, Raymond Chandler ( 1993)
In this second Philip Marlowe novel, the detective is more fleshed-out and well-drawn. Chandler expanded Marlowe's trademark irreverence and wise-guy remakrs, and in "Farewell, My Lovely" Marlowe is more well-intentioned. Taking on the case of Moose Malloy, wrongly imprisoned for robbery, Marlowe must also find Malloy's love Velma, who disappeared when Malloy was imprisoned eight years before. Also Marlowe must come to terms with his feelings for Anne Riordan, who is assisting him with the case.
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Four Complete Philip Marlowe Novels by Raymond Chandler ( 1986) |
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The High Window by Raymond Chandler ( 1992)
Set in the California underworld where Philip Marlowe searches for a priceless gold coin and finds himself deep in the tangled affairs of a dead coin dealer.
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Killer in the Rain by Raymond Chandler ( 1987)
This early novel preceded the introduction of Chandler's famous detective Philip Marlowe, but was a crucial step in setting the stage for his entrance.
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Killer in the Rain And Other Stories by Raymond Chandler ( 2007) |
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Killer in the Rain and Other Stories by Raymond Chandler ( 1996)
Killer in the Rain and Other Stories is a collection of four mysteries of which Killer in the Rain and The Curtain are early Raymond Chandler stories that set the groundwork for the creation of the Philip Marlowe character, Goldfish and Finger Man are classic Marlowe mysteries.
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LA Ventana Siniestra/High Window by Raymond Chandler ( 1984)
A valuable coin has disappeared, and detective Philip Marlowe faces not just an ordinary thief but the corruption and falseness of society itself.
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La Dama Del Lago/ The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler ( 2001) |
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La Hermana Pequena by Raymond Chandler, Michael Lark ( 2005) |
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La Ventana Alta by Raymond Chandler ( 2005) |
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La hermana pequena / The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler ( 2001) |
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La ventana siniestra by Raymond Chandler ( 2003) |
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The Lady in the Lake BBC Dramatization by Raymond Chandler ( 2009) |
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The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler ( 2007) |
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The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler ( 1992)
Philip Marlowe goes out of his usual city habitat into the mountains outside of Los Angeles in his strange search for a missing woman.
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The Lady in the Lake (Dramatized) by Raymond Chandler ( )
Ed Bishop stars as Philip Marlowe in these powerfully atmospheric BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of Raymond Chandler's novels about the cynical, world-weary, wise-cracking shamus whose honesty in a dishonest world sent him down the mean streets again and again in search of some kind of justice.
Blonde, beautiful, and wild, Crystal Kingsley had never exactly been the faithful little wife. But when she's missing for a month and a woman's body surfaces in an isolated mountain lake, murder-a-day Marlowe is back in business. When the body in the lake turns out not to be Crystal at all, it is in fact one of her neighbours, Philip Marlowe can sniff the beginnings of a mystery. Hired by Derace Kingsley to find his missing wife, Marlowe soon discovers that a few more corpses will turn up before he gets to the bottom of this particular case. |
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The Lady in the Lake/the Little Sister/the Long Goodbye/Playback The Little Sister ; The Long Goodbye ; Playback by Raymond Chandler ( 2002)
Creator of the famous Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler elevated the American hard-boiled detective genre to an art form. Chandler's last four novels, published here in one volume, offer ample opportunity to savor the unique and utterly compelling fictional world that made his works modern classics.
THE LADY IN THE LAKE moves Marlowe out of his usual habitat of city streets and into the mountains outside of Los Angeles in his strange search for a missing woman. THE LITTLE SISTER takes Marlowe to Hollywood, where he tries to find a sweet young thing's missing brother, uncovering on the way a little blackmail, a lot of drugs, and more than enough murder. In THE LONG GOODBYE, a case involving a war-scarred drunk and his nymphomaniac wife has Marlowe constantly on the move: a psychotic gangster's on his trail, he's in trouble with the cops, and more and more corpses keep turning up. PLAYBACK features a well-endowed redhead who leads Marlowe to the California coast to solve a tale of big money and, of course, murder. Throughout these masterpieces, Marlowe's wry humor and existential sense of his job prove yet again why he has become one of the most recognized and imitated characters in fiction. |
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El Largo Adios / The Long Good Bye by Raymond Chandler ( 2005) |
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Later Novels and Other Writings The Lady in the Lake/the Little Sister/the Long Goodbye/Playback/Double Indemnity/Selected Essays and Letters by Raymond Chandler ( 1995)
The library of America is dedicated to publishing America's best and most significant writing in handsome, enduring volumes, featuring authoritative texts. Hailed as the "finest-looking, longest-lasting editions ever made" (The New Republic), Library of America volumes make a fine gift for any occasion. Now, with exactly one hundred volumes to choose from, there is a perfect gift for everyone. In Chandler's hands, the pulp crime story became a haunting mystery of power and corruption, set against a modern cityscape that is both lyrical and violent. "As another reminder of where we've come from and why we're still reading mysteries, The Library of America has put together two handsome volumes of Raymond Chandler's work -- guaranteed to bring a broad grin of acquisitive delight to the face of any recipient". -- Los Angeles Times Book Review
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The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler ( 1988)
Chandler's 5th novel has Philip Marlowe going to Hollywood as he explores the underworld of glitter capital, trying to find a sweet young thing's missing brother.
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The Little Sister/Large Print by Raymond Chandler ( 1993)
Orfamay Quest of Manhattan, Kansas, is a "small, neat, rather prissy-looking girl with primly smooth brown hair and rimless glasses." She approaches the detective Marlowe to help her find her missing brother, but she can only afford to pay him $20. What Orfamay Quest doesn't tell Marlowe is that her half-sister is a movie starlet with mob connections. This is the first Chandler novel concerned with the movie industry, a business he knew all too well. He is primarily interested in how the Hollywood mentality can affect people, even small-town folk from Kansas.
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The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler ( 1992)
Philip Marlowe is constantly on the move with a case involving a war scarred drunk and his nymphomaniac wife.
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Mandarin's Jade & Other Stories by Raymond Chandler ( 1996) |
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Mandarin's Jade And Other Stories by Raymond Chandler ( 2007) |
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Masterpieces of Modern Short Fiction by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Joseph Conrad, Philip Roth, Orson Welles, Isabel Allende, Aldous Huxley, Joyce Carol Oates, Paul Theroux, Ambrose Bierce, Elliott Gould, Raymond Chandler, Ron Silver, David Birney, Roscoe Lee Browne, Elizabeth Pena ( 1998)
Here is an eclectic compendium of the finest short fiction of the last 150 years, featuring works by Isabelle Allende, Ambrose Bierce, Raymond Chandler, Joseph Conrad, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Aldous Huxley, Joyce Carol Oates, Philip Roth, Paul Theroux, and others.
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The Midnight Raymond Chandler. by Raymond Chandler ( 1971)
Contains the complete texts of two novels and four stories which secure the American writer's position as a master of mystery and suspense.
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The Notebooks of Raymond Chandler and English Summer a Gothic Romance by Raymond Chandler ( 2007) |
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The Notebooks of Raymond Chandler and English Summer A Gothic Romance by Raymond Chandler ( 1976) |
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The Notebooks of Raymond Chandler and English Summer a Gothic Romance A Gothic Romance by Frank MacShane, Raymond Chandler ( 1991) |
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Perchance to Dream by Raymond Chandler, Robert B. Parker ( 2007)
Robert B. Parker's sequel to Raymond Chandler's "The Big Sleep", starring archetypal hardboiled detective Philip Marlowe.
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Pickup on Noon Street by Raymond Chandler ( 1982) |
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Playback by Raymond Chandler ( 1988)
Philip Marlowe meets a well-endowed redhead as she disembarks from the Super Chief and drags him to the California coast to solve a tale of big money and, of course, murder.
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Poodle Springs by Robert B. Parker, Raymond Chandler ( 1989)
Cynical sleuth Philip Marlowe weds a wealthy heiress from the exclusive Poodle Springs only to find himself embroiled with the law, local gangsters and murder.
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Raymond Chandler 4 Complete Philip Marlowe Novels the Big Sleep/Farewell, My Lovely/the High Window/the Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler ( 1991)
A shrewd, cynical private detective is the protagonist in four mystery novels considered to be Chandler's best.
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Raymond Chandler Omnibus by Raymond Chandler ( 1964) |
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The Raymond Chandler Papers Selected Letters and Nonfiction 1909-1959 by Raymond Chandler ( 2002)
The Raymond Chandler Papers brings together the correspondence and other previously uncollected writing of America's undisputed master of crime fiction and creator of the iconic private eye Phillip Marlowe, revealing all aspects of the great artist's powerful personality and broad intellectual curiosity. Featuring a selection of Chandler's previously unpublished early writings -- including a gripping piece about his combat experiences in World War I -- and an abandoned profile of the infamous mobster "Lucky" Luciano, The Raymond Chandler Papers is a must-have for all true fans, and an important contribution toward understanding the life and work of the enigmatic man Evelyn Waugh called "the greatest living American novelist." "[M]akes clear the private Chandler was just as powerful, and his wit was as cutting as Marlowe's...." -- Roger Lowenstein, The Wall Street Journal" "For the Chandler fan, The Raymond Chandler Papers ... is a treasure-trove." -- David Lehman, The New York Times Book Review
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Raymond Chandler Speaking by Raymond Chandler, Dorothy Gardiner ( 1997)
Tough-minded and typically idiosyncratic, here is Chandler on Chandler, the mystery novel, writing, Hollywood, TV, publishing, cats, and famous crimes. This skillfully edited selection of letters, articles, and notes also includes the short story "A Couple of Writers" and the first chapters of Chandler's last Philip Marlowe novel, The Poodle Springs Story, left unfinished at his death. Paul Skenazy has provided a new introduction for this edition as well as a new selected bibliography.
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Raymond Chandler's "Goldfish by Raymond Chandler ( 1996) |
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Raymond Chandler's Marlowe The Graphic Novel by Raymond Chandler ( 2003) |
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Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe A Centennial Celebration by ( 1999)
Filled with new stories especially written for this volume, this celebration of the great noir character includes contributions by Sara Paretsky, Julie Smith, Roger L. Simon, Robert B. Parker, and other notable authors. Original.
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Raymond Chandler's Unknown Thriller The Screenplay of Playback by Raymond Chandler ( 1985)
Contains the screenplay for a movie that was never produced, which the author envisioned as being one of his most important works.
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Red Wind by Raymond Chandler ( 2006) |
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Red Wing by Raymond Chandler ( 1995) |
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Science Fiction Stories by Raymond Chandler ( 1986) |
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Secret Tunnel by Raymond Chandler ( 1973) |
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Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler by Frank MacShane, Raymond Chandler ( 1981)
In letters written between 1937 and 1959, Chandler comments on his work and characters, fellow mystery and detective fiction writers, world events, and life in California.
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The Simple Art of Murder by Raymond Chandler ( 1988)
Contains Chandler's essay on the art of detective stories and a collection of eight classic Chandler mysteries.
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El Simple Arte De Escribir/the Simple Art to Write by Raymond Chandler ( 2002) |
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Smart-Aleck Kill by Raymond Chandler ( 1976) |
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The Smell of Fear by Raymond Chandler ( 1973) |
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Stories and Early Novels Pulp Stories/the Big Sleep/Farewell, My Lovely/the High Window by Raymond Chandler ( 1995)
Stories and Early Novels includes every story that Chandler did not later incorporate into a novel - thirteen in all. Drawn from the pages of Black Mask and Dime Detective, these stories show how Chandler adapted the violent conventions of the pulp magazines - with their brisk exposition and rapid-fire dialogue - to his own emerging vision of 20th-century America. Raymond Chandler: Stories and Early Novels contains a newly researched chronology of Chandler's life, explanatory notes, and an essay on the texts.
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El Sueno Eterno/the Eternal Dream by Raymond Chandler ( 2003) |
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Trouble Is My Business by Raymond Chandler ( 1992)
A collection of 12 mysteries of which the first eight are early Raymond Chandler mysteries that set the groundwork for the creation of the Philip Marlowe character. The final four are classic Marlowe mysteries.
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Trouble Is My Business/2 Audio Cassettes by Raymond Chandler ( 1988) |
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Yesterday's Tomorrows Rian Hughes Collected Comics by John Freeman, Grant Morrison, Raymond Chandler, Tom Dehaven, Rian Hughes ( 2008) |
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El sueno eterno/ The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler ( 2005) |