Get a lead on the man behind Marlowe with this characteristic selection of his writings collected here for the first time in book form. Read the early versions of descriptions, ideas, and anecdotes later used inThe Big Sleep,Farewell, My Lovely,The Long Goodbye, andThe Blue Dahlia, and his collections of pickpocket lingo and jailhouse slang. Delight in the wonderfully tongue-in-cheek "Chandlerisms", the ode to Miss Mutch the copy-editor, his "Routines to shock the Neighbours", and a wicked parody of Hemingway ("The Sun also Sneezes"). Read of his plans in 1939 "if there is no war and if there is any money". And discover the serious side of Chandler in several thoughtful essays - on Hollywood, the mystery story, American and English writing - and in "English Summer, a Gothic Romance," which Chandler considered a turning point in his career; illustrated by Edward Gorey, this work is published here for the first time in book form.