The Notebooks of Raymond Chandler
by Raymond Chandler, Frank MacShane (Editor)
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During a period of twenty years--from his start as a young writer for H. L. Mencken's classic pulp magazine The Black Mask in the early 1930s, through the publication of his novels The Big Sleep and Farewell, My Lovely, to his career as a Hollywood screenwriter in the 1940s--Raymond Chandler kept a series of private notebooks. Drawn from those journals, The Notebooks of Raymond Chandler offers an intimate view of the writer at work, revealing early ideas, descriptions, and anecdotes that show more would later be used in The Long Goodbye, The Blue Dahlia, and other classics. Filled with both public and private writings, The Notebooks of Raymond Chandler includes "Marlowesque" particulars such as pickpocket lingo, San Quentin jailhouse slang, a "Note on the Tommygun," and musings on "Craps." Here, too, are surprising, lesser known essays on Hollywood, the mystery story, British and American writing, and a wicked parody of Hemingway. This sampler--by turns whimsical, provocative, irreverent, and fascinating--also contains a list of possible story titles; "Chandlerisms;" and his short work "English Summer: A Gothic Romance," which the writer viewed as a turning point in his career. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Alas, though the title is compelling, there's a lot less here than meets the eye. The forward talks about the extensive notebooks that Chandler kept, then tells us how he destroyed them all. What remains are a few odds and ends, such as some story ideas, odd bits such as collections of San Quentin slang, some items found in a Los Angeles store, and the like. Interesting mostly for its curio effects. I did like the list of possible novel titles, but as a whole, there's just not much here. Glad I got it cheap at a library sale.
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278+ Works 47,969 Members
Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 23, 1888. Before becoming a professional writer in 1933, he worked as a reporter, an accountant, bookkeeper, and auditor. He wrote several novels featuring private detective Philip Marlowe including The Big Sleep, The High Window, The Lady in the Lake, The Little Sister, and The Long Goodbye. show more In addition to novels and short stories, he wrote screenplays. He won two academy awards, for Double Indemnity (1944) and The Blue Dahlia (1946). He died on March 26, 1959. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Raymond Chandler
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- Members
- 130
- Popularity
- 248,181
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.59)
- Languages
- English, Polish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 2
