PositivePublishers WeeklyNearly 80 years after its original publication, Chandler’s iconic debut novel finally gets the scholarly treatment it deserves with this superb, lovingly annotated edition. The enduring 1939 tale of blackmail and corruption introduced readers to private detective Philip Marlowe and remains one of the most influential novels in American literature, inspiring countless books and films ... For readers already well-acquainted with the book, the annotations force us to slow down and consider the historical context in which it was conceived. Drawing from contemporary newspaper accounts of crimes, as well as bits of cultural archeology from period Los Angeles, the notes reveal the psychological toll of the boom-and-bust rise of the city, the dark underbelly of Hollywood, the racial and sexual attitudes of the era, and the widespread corruption that seemed to permeate all aspects of society, from the scions of industry to the LAPD.
