Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep

David C. Dougherty (Loyola University Maryland)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1939

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Recommended Reading

In 1939 the American detective novel was in its early developmental stage. A few writers, notably Rex Stout, S.S. van Dyne, and Ellery Queen, were attempting to graft the Sherlock Holmes model to the American landscape, and one brilliant innovator, Dashiell Hammett, had completed three novels in a new sub-genre, the tough guy detective –

The Dain Curse

and

Red Harvest

(both 1929) and

The Maltese Falcon

(1930). A substantial number of short stories in the new mode were coming out of the pulp magazines, especially

Black Mask

, some of them written by ex-oil company executive Raymond Chandler, who wanted to become known as a crime novelist. That year, Chandler produced one of the most important and innovative novels in the American crime lexicon,

The Big Sleep.

With its intricate plot,…

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3033 words

Citation: Dougherty, David C.. "The Big Sleep". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 June 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1461, accessed 20 May 2024.]

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