Raymond Chandler

Description

Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 &ndash; March 26, 1959) was an author of crime stories and novels. His influence on modern crime fiction has been immense, particularly in the writing style and attitudes that much of the field has adopted over the last 60 years. Chandler's protagonist, Philip Marlowe, has become synonymous with the tradition of the hard-boiled private detective, along with Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade. <p>Chandler was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1888, but moved to Britain in 1895 with his mother after they were abandoned by his father, an alcoholic civil engineer for an American railway company. His mother's brother, a successful lawyer, supported them. Chandler entered Dulwich College in London in 1900, where he received a classical education. He did not attend university, instead spending time in Europe. He was naturalised as a British citizen in 1907 in order to take the Civil Service exam. He passed with the third highest score and took a job at the ...