Raymond Chandler

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.

Short Stories

Chandler's short stories typically chronicled the adventures of Philip Marlowe or other down-on-their luck private detectives (John Dalmas, Steve Grayce) or similarly inclined good samaritans (such as Mr. Carmady). Exceptions are the macabre "The Bronze Door" and "English Summer", a self-described Gothic romance set in the English countryside. Interestingly, in the 1950s radio series "The Adventures of Philip Marlowe", which included adaptations from the stories, other protagonists were exchanged for Marlowe (for example, Marlowe for Steve Grayce in the adaptation of "The King in Yellow"). This substitution of the name of the protagonist actually restored the original name used in the earliest published versions of the stories; in fact, it was only in their later republished forms that the name Philip Marlowe was used in any of the stories (with the exception of "The Pencil").

Related Topics:
Good samaritan - Gothic - English

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stories Featuring Philip Marlowe

• Finger Man (1934)
• Goldfish (1936)
• Red Wind (1938)
• Trouble is My Business (1939)
• The Pencil (1961; originally Marlowe Takes on the Syndicate)

Other Short Stories

• Blackmailers Don't Shoot (1933)
• Smart-Aleck Kill (1934)
• Killer in the Rain (1935)
• Nevada Gas (1935)
• Spanish Blood (1935)
• Guns at Cyrano's (1936)
• The Man Who Liked Dogs (1936)
• Pickup on Noon Street (1936; originally published as Noon Street Nemesis)
• The Curtain (1936)
• Try the Girl (1937)
• Mandarin's Jade (1937)
• The King in Yellow (1938)
• Bay City Blues (1938)
• Pearls are a Nuisance (1939)
• I'll be Waiting (1939)
• The Bronze Door (1939)
• No Crime in the Mountains (1941)
• Professor Bingo's Snuff (1951)
• English Summer (1976; published posthumously)