An unlikely genius

Raymond Thornton Chandler never intended to become a fiction writer. Despite a first class education at Dulwich College and an early interest in romantic poetry, his initial foray as a journalist for the Daily Express and later the Westminster Gazet was entirely unsuccessful. The height of his career, working as a vice president at Dabney Oil Syndicate, lasted only a year before he was fired for his constant alcoholism, absenteeism, and flirting with the female employees. It was not until, at the age of forty-four and in the midst of the Great Depression, financial necessity forced him to again try his hand as a writer.

Blackmailers, Pornographers, and Bootleggers

The Big Sleep was Raymond Chandler’s first novel, and has gone on to earn it’s reputation as one of the most influential novels ever written. Although not the first hardboiled fiction writer, Raymond Chandler brought a distinct style to the genre. The windingly complicated narrative, the femme fatale, and the seedy LA underbelly were all introduced to the genre through Chandler’s work. Set in early 1930’s Los Angeles, The Big Sleep introduces the figure of Philip Marlowe, a hard drinking detective who stumbles through a maze of subterfuge involving blackmailers, pornographers, and bootleggers. A modern day Don Quixjote, with every turn Marlowe finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into the muck of 1930’s Los Angeles.

As with all of our publications, you can download and read a pdf copy of this book for free. But if you enjoy the work we do, please consider purchasing a paperback. This book is aesthetically designed and luxuriously formatted in pulp style with Times New Roman font and Lydian headings, and is small enough to fit in a back pocket. This edition also contains two appendices discussing the hardboiled fiction genre.