Raymond Chandler (1888–1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. He was born in Chicago, Illinois and lived in the US until he was seven, when his parents separated and his Anglo-Irish mother brought him to live near London; he was educated at Dulwich College from 1900. After working briefly for the British Civil Service, he became a part-time teacher at Dulwich, supplementing his income as a journalist and writer—mostly for The Westminster Gazette and The Academy. His output—consisting largely of poems and essays—was not to his taste, and his biographer Paul Bishop considers the work as "lifeless", while Contemporary Authors describes it as "lofty in subject and mawkish in tone". Chandler returned to the US in 1912 where he trained to become an accountant in Los Angeles. In 1917 he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, saw combat in the trenches in France where he was wounded, and was undergoing flight training in the fledgling Royal Air Force when the war ended.
Chandler returned to the US in 1919 to rekindle his literary career, but instead took a job with an oil company until he was fired in 1932 following a bout of depression, womanizing and heavy drinking. He began writing crime stories for the pulp magazines Black Mask, Detective Fiction Weekly, The Fortnightly Intruder and Dime Detective. Between 1933 and 1941, Chandler wrote 22 short stories. In the next 17 years he wrote only three more. In the mid-1940s, some of the first 22 began appearing in inexpensive paperback and hardcover collections published by Avon Books and World Publishing Co. In 1950, Houghton Mifflin published the hardcover collection The Simple Art of Murder, containing a dozen stories selected by Chandler and an essay on mystery stories. Eight stories that he had "cannibalized" (his term) while writing his novels were omitted at his request. After Chandler's death, these eight were published in Killer in the Rain (1964).[1] Selected stories from The Simple Art of Murder were subsequently published in additional paperback and hardcover editions. In 1939, at the behest of the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, Sr., Chandler wrote his first novel, The Big Sleep, for which he used parts of his short stories "Killer in the Rain" (1935) and "The Curtain" (1936). He went on to write seven novels, all of which featured the character Philip Marlowe.
In 1944 Chandler was asked by Paramount Pictures to write the script for the film Double Indemnity with Billy Wilder; the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. It was the first of seven scripts Chandler wrote, although two of them were unused. In 1959 Chandler died of pneumonia, brought on by alcoholism. In the aftermath of his death, many of his unpublished writings—including letters, literary criticism and prose and poetry—were released. His biographer, Tom Williams, considers that Chandler's name has become "a touchstone for crime writing, representing not just excellent fiction, but also a type of writing that is at once powerful and beautiful."
"The Rose-Leaf Romance" and "Organ Music" are an early short story and an early poem that were included in a collection, but their first printing is unknown.
| Title | Date of publication | Periodical | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chambers's Journal | Poem | |||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Review of The Broad Highway by Jeffery Farnol | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Essay | ||||
| Essay | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Book review of The Reason Why by Elinor Glyn | ||||
| Essay | ||||
| Essay | ||||
| Essay | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Poem | ||||
| Review of The Drama of Love and Death by Edward Carpenter | ||||
| Review of Change in the Village by George Bourne | ||||
| Essay | ||||
| Black Mask | Story | |||
| Black Mask | Story | |||
| Black Mask | Story | |||
| Black Mask | Story | |||
| Black Mask | Story | |||
| Black Mask | Story | |||
| Black Mask | Story | |||
| Black Mask | Story | |||
| Detective Fiction Weekly | Story, originally published as "Noon Street Nemesis" | |||
| Black Mask | Story | |||
| Black Mask | Story | |||
| Black Mask | Story | |||
| Letter | ||||
| Letter | ||||
| Dime Detective | Story | |||
| Dime Detective | Story | |||
| Dime Detective | Story | |||
| Dime Detective | Story | |||
| Dime Detective | Story | |||
| Dime Detective | Story | |||
| Dime Detective | Story | |||
| Story | ||||
| Story | ||||
| Detective Story Magazine | Story | |||
| Article | ||||
| Article | ||||
| Review of The Golden Egg by James Pollock | ||||
| Harper's Magazine | Letter | |||
| – | ||||
| Article | ||||
| Review of Murders Plain and Fanciful by James Sandoe | ||||
| Cosmopolitan | Article | |||
| Cosmopolitan | Prepublication abridgement | |||
| Article | ||||
| Letter | ||||
| Park East | Story | |||
| Park East | Story | |||
| Park East | Story | |||
| Article | ||||
| Fantastic | Autobiographical note accompanying reprint of "Professor Bingo's Snuff" | |||
| London Evening Standard | Letter | |||
| Letter | ||||
| Review of Diamonds Are Forever by Ian Fleming | ||||
| San Diego Evening Tribune | Guest Column | |||
| Daily Express | Letter | |||
| Daily Express | Letter | |||
| San Diego Evening Tribune | Guest Column | |||
| San Diego Evening Tribune | Guest Column | |||
| Review of Dr. No by Ian Fleming | ||||
| Suspense | Story | |||
| Suspense | Story | |||
| Article | ||||
| – April 10, 1959 | Daily Mail | Story – published posthumously | ||
| San Diego Evening Tribune | Guest Column – published posthumously | |||
| Appreciation of Chandler by Ian Fleming; includes letters from Chandler – published posthumously | ||||
| Prepublication excerpts – published posthumously | ||||
| Antaeus | Article – published posthumously | |||
| Antaeus | Story – published posthumously |
| Title | Date of publication | Periodical | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pageant | Chandler interviewed by Irving Wallace | |||
| San Diego Daily Journal | Chandler interviewed | |||
| San Diego Daily Journal | Chandler interviewed by Terry Nolan | |||
| Chandler interviewed by Cyril Ray | ||||
| John O'London's Weekly | Chandler interviewed by Peter Forster | |||
| Chicago Sunday Tribune | Chandler interviewed by Vincent Starrett | |||
| Daily Express | Chandler interviewed by René MacColl | |||
| Daily Express | Chandler interviewed by Merrick Winn | |||
| Daily Express | Chandler interviewed by Donald Gomery |
Chandler left an unfinished novel when he died. This was completed by Robert B. Parker and published in 1989 as Poodle Springs.
| Title | Year of first publication | First edition publisher | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Alfred A. Knopf, New York | Based on the short stories "Killer in the Rain" (1935) and "The Curtain" (1936). | |||
| Farewell, My Lovely | 1940 | Alfred A. Knopf, New York | Based on the short stories "The Man Who Liked Dogs" (1936), "Try The Girl" (1937) and "Mandarin's Jade" (1937). | ||
| 1942 | Alfred A. Knopf, New York | First Marlowe novel to not re-use previous short stories | |||
| 1943 | Alfred A. Knopf, New York | Based on the short stories "Bay City Blues" (1938), "The Lady In The Lake" (1939), "No Crime In The Mountains" (1941). | |||
| 1949 | Hamish Hamilton, London | Scenes based on the short story "Bay City Blues" (1938). | |||
| 1953 | Hamish Hamilton, London | The first edition was in the UK, where it was published as The Long Good-Bye; winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel, 1955. Scenes based on the short story "The Curtain" (1936). | |||
| Playback | 1958 | Hamish Hamilton, London | Based on an unproduced screenplay. |
| Title | Year of first publication | First edition publisher | Stories in the first edition | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Five Murderers | Avon Books, New York | ||||
| Five Sinister Characters | Avon Books, New York | ||||
| Red Wind | World Publishing Co, Cleveland, OH | ||||
| Spanish Blood | World Publishing Co, Cleveland, OH | ||||
| Finger Man, and Other Stories | Avon Books, New York | ||||
| Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston | |||||
| Trouble Is My Business | Penguin Books, Harmondsworth | ||||
| Pick-up on Noon Street | Pocket Books, New York | ||||
| Smart-Aleck Kill | Hamish Hamilton, London | ||||
| Pearls Are a Nuisance | Hamish Hamilton, London | ||||
| Killer in the Rain | Hamish Hamilton, London | ||||
| Hamish Hamilton, London |
Many of Chandler's works were used as the basis for films. The following are where he is credited as the writer of the performed script.
| Title | Year of release | Studio | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Double Indemnity | Paramount Pictures | With Billy Wilder; based on the novella by James M. Cain. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay | |||
| And Now Tomorrow | Paramount Pictures | With Frank Partos; based on the novel by Rachel Field. | |||
| Paramount Pictures | With Hagar Wilde; based on a novel by Ethel Lina White. | ||||
| Paramount Pictures | Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay | ||||
| Strangers on a Train | Warner Bros. | With Czenzi Ormonde; based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. |
| Title | Year of release | Studio | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Paramount Pictures | Based on The Innocent Mrs. Duff (1946) by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding | |||
| Playback | 1947–48 | Universal Studios | Original story, later converted to a novel of the same name |
| Title | Year of first publication | First edition publisher | Category | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raymond Chandler on Writing | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston MA | Letters, criticism and fiction | Pamphlet containing material from Raymond Chandler Speaking published for promotional purposes; edited by Dorothy Gardiner and Kathrine Sorley Walker | |||
| Raymond Chandler Speaking | Hamish Hamilton, London | Letters, criticism and fiction | Edited by Dorothy Gardiner and Kathrine Sorley Walker | |||
| Chandler before Marlowe: Raymond Chandler's Early Prose and Poetry, 1908–1912 | 1973 | University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC | Prose and poetry | Edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli | ||
| 1976 | Ecco Press, New York, NY | Prose and story | Edited by Frank MacShane | |||
| Raymond Chandler and James M. Fox: Letters | 1979 | Privately printed | Letters | |||
| Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler | 1981 | Columbia University Press, New York, NY | Letters | Edited by Frank MacShane | ||
| Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe: A Centennial Celebration | 1990 | Perigee Books, New York, NY | Stories | Contains 23 Philip Marlowe stories by various writers; also contains Chandler's "The Pencil" | ||
| Raymond Chandler: Stories and Early Novels | Library of America, New York, NY | Prose | Edited by Frank MacShane | |||
| Raymond Chandler: Later Novels and Other Writings | Library of America, New York, NY | Prose | Edited by Frank MacShane | |||
| 2000 | Hamish Hamilton, London | Letters and essays | Edited by Tom Hiney and Frank MacShane | |||
| 1917 / discovered 2014 | unpublished, Los Angeles | comic operetta libretto | Words by Raymond Chandler, Music by Julian Pascal |