AUTHOR

Raymond Chandler

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense | Literature & Fiction
Tap the gear icon above to manage new release emails.
Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was a British-American novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at age forty-four, Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Great Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in 1933 in Black Mask, a popular pulp magazine. His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939. In addition to his short stories, Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime (an eighth, in progress at the time of his death, was completed by Robert B. Parker). All but Playback have been made into motion pictures, some several times. In the year before he died, he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America. He died on March 26, 1959, in La Jolla, California. Chandler had an immense stylistic influence on American popular literature. He is considered by many to be a founder, along with Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain and other Black Mask writers, of the hard-boiled school of detective fiction. His protagonist, Philip Marlowe, along with Hammett's Sam Spade, is considered by some to be synonymous with "private detective," both having been played on screen by Humphrey Bogart, whom many considered to be the quintessential Marlowe. Some of Chandler's novels are considered important literary works, and three are often considered masterpieces: Farewell, My Lovely (1940), The Little Sister (1949), and The Long Goodbye (1953). The Long Goodbye was praised in an anthology of American crime stories as "arguably the first book since Hammett's The Glass Key, published more than twenty years earlier, to qualify as a serious and significant mainstream novel that just happened to possess elements of mystery". Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Read more Read less
You're getting a free audiobook


You're getting a free audiobook.

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Try for $0.00

Featured Article: Who's the best? Rediscover the greatest, most notable American writers of all time


To curate a list of famous American writers who are also considered among the best American authors, a few things count: current ratings for their works, their particular time periods in history, critical reception, their prevalence in the 21st century, and yes, the awards they won. Many of these authors are taught in school today. From Hemingway to Harper Lee, these famous American authors are all worthy of enduring recognition—and a fresh listen!

Featured Article Who's the best Rediscover the greatest most notable American writers of all time

Best Sellers

Product List
  • Poodle Springs Audiobook By Robert B. Parker, Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $15.56 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $15.56 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Playback Audiobook By Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $13.50 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $13.50 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Raymond Chandler: The Big Sleep (Dramatised) Audiobook By Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $11.62 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $11.62 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Trouble Is My Business Audiobook By Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $15.75 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $15.75 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • The High Window Audiobook By Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $15.75 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $15.75 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Farewell, My Lovely Audiobook By Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $15.75 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $15.75 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • The Long Goodbye Audiobook By Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $20.25 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $20.25 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • The Little Sister Audiobook By Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $18.88 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $18.88 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • The Big Sleep Audiobook By Raymond Chandler, Ian Rankin cover art

    Regular price: $18.88 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $18.88 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Adiós, muñeca [Farewell, My Lovely] Audiobook By Raymond Chandler, César Aira - translator, Juan Manuel

    Regular price: $14.39 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $14.39 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • The Lady in the Lake Audiobook By Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $15.75 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $15.75 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • The Little Sister Audiobook By Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $15.75 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $15.75 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Raymond Chandler: The Long Goodbye (Dramatised) Audiobook By Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $7.26 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $7.26 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Raymond Chandler: Poodle Springs (Dramatised) Audiobook By Raymond Chandler, Robert B Parker cover art

    Regular price: $5.81 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $5.81 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Farewell, My Lovely Audiobook By Raymond Chandler, Colin Dexter cover art

    Regular price: $18.88 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $18.88 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Raymond Chandler: The High Window (Dramatised) Audiobook By Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $7.26 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $7.26 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • The Long Good-Bye Audiobook By Raymond Chandler, Jeffery Deaver - introduction cover art

    Regular price: $18.88 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $18.88 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • El sueño eterno [The Big Sleep] Audiobook By Raymond Chandler, Juan Manuel Ibeas Delgado - translator, José Lui

    Regular price: $11.33 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $11.33 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Bay City Blues Audiobook By Raymond Chandler cover art

    Regular price: $4.89 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $4.89 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
  • Trouble Is My Business Audiobook By Raymond Chandler, Karin Slaughter - introduction cover art

    Regular price: $18.88 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $18.88 or 1 credit

    Try for $0.00
Looking for a thrill? Try listening to one of these authors

Looking for a thrill? Try listening
to one of these authors

Explore

Are you an author?

Help us improve our Author Pages by updating your bibliography and submitting a new or current image and biography.
Visit Amazon Author Central