Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe: a Centennial Celebration explained

Edited by Byron Preiss, Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe: a Centennial Celebration is an anthology of short stories collected for the centenary of Raymond Chandler's birth, in 1988.^[1] Containing 23 stories^[1] by such noted crime-writers as Robert B. Parker,^[2] Sara Paretsky,^[1] Loren D. Estleman,^[1] Stuart M. Kaminsky,^[3] and Ed Gorman^[3] each tale takes place in one of the years that Philip Marlowe was active as a private eye (1935–1959). As well, the anthology includes The Pencil, Chandler's last Marlowe short story.^[4]

Stories

• The Perfect Crime by Max Allan Collins
• The Black-Eyed Blonde by Benjamin M. Schutz
• Gun Music by Loren D. Estleman
• Saving Grace by Joyce Harrington
• Malibu Tag Team by Jonathan Valin
• Sad-Eyed Blonde by Dick Lochte
• The Empty Sleeve by W. R. Philbrick
• Dealer's Choice by Sara Paretsky
• Red Rock by Julie Smith
• The Deepest South by Paco Ignacio Taibo II
• Consultation in the Dark by Francis M. Nevins Jr.
• In the Jungle of Cities by Roger L. Simon
• Star Bright by John Lutz
• Stardust Kill by Simon Brett
• Locker 246 by Robert J. Randisi
• Bitter Lemons by Stuart M. Kaminsky
• The Man Who Knew Dick Bong by Robert Crais
• Essence D'Orient by Edward D. Hoch
• In the Line of Duty by Jeremiah Healy
• The Alibi by Ed Gorman
• The Devil's Playground by James Grady
• Asia by Eric Van Lustbader
• Mice by Robert Campbell
• The Pencil by Raymond Chandler

Second Edition

A second edition, published in 1999, contained an additional two stories, as well as a new introduction by Robert B. Parker.

• Sixty-Four Squares by J. Madison Davis
• Summer in Idle Valley by Roger L. Simon

Notes and References

1. Web site: Turan. Kenneth. The Raymond Chandler Lookalike Contest : RAYMOND CHANDLER'S PHILIP MARLOWE A Centennial Celebration, edited by Byron Preiss (Alfred A. Knopf: $18.95; 352 pp. 0-394-57327-7). https://web.archive.org/web/20231009130056/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-18-bk-977-story.html. The Los Angeles Times. December 18, 1988. October 9, 2023. October 9, 2023.
2. Book: Widdicombe, Toby. A Reader's Guide to Raymond Chandler. ABC-Clio. 2001. 183. 9780313016523.
3. Book: Murphy, B.. The Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery. Palgrave Macmillan. 1999. 178. 9780230107359.
4. Book: Kabatchnik, Amnon. Blood on the Stage, 1975-2000 - Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection : an Annotated Repertoire. Scarecrow Press. 2012. 104. 9780810883543.