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Blandish's Orchids and Dave Fenner #1
Nie ma orchidei dla panny Blandish
Gangsterzy porywają córkę milionera, inkasują olbrzymi okup, ale nie zwracają ojcu uprowadzonej dziewczyny. Milioner wynajmuje prywatnego detektywa, nie po to, by odnalazł jego córkę – jest przekonany, że ta już nie żyje – chodzi mu o wykrycie porywaczy i oddanie ich w ręce sprawiedliwości.
Czy panna Blandish żyje? Co dzieje się z piękną młodą dziewczyną, która wpadła w ręce bezwzględnych, pozbawionych skrupułów bandytów i w dodatku wywarła niezwykle silme wrażenie na synu przywódczyni gangu, psychopatycznym mordercy Slimie?
Tę powieść klasyka literatury sensacyjnej Chase’a, uważaną przez krytyków za najlepsze jego dzieło, odznaczającą się charakterystyczną dla autora elegancją narracji, czyta się od początku do końca z niesłabnącym zainteresowaniem.
Czy panna Blandish żyje? Co dzieje się z piękną młodą dziewczyną, która wpadła w ręce bezwzględnych, pozbawionych skrupułów bandytów i w dodatku wywarła niezwykle silme wrażenie na synu przywódczyni gangu, psychopatycznym mordercy Slimie?
Tę powieść klasyka literatury sensacyjnej Chase’a, uważaną przez krytyków za najlepsze jego dzieło, odznaczającą się charakterystyczną dla autora elegancją narracji, czyta się od początku do końca z niesłabnącym zainteresowaniem.
214 pages
First published January 1, 1939
274 people are currently reading
5553 people want to read
About the author
James Hadley Chase
651 books987 followersRené Lodge Brabazon Raymond was born on 24th December 1906 in London, England, the son of Colonel Francis Raymond of the colonial Indian Army, a veterinary surgeon. His father intended his son to have a scientific career, was initially educated at King's School, Rochester, Kent. He left home at the age of 18 and became at different times a children's encyclopedia salesman, a salesman in a bookshop, and executive for a book wholesaler before turning to a writing career that produced more than 90 mystery books. His interests included photography (he was up to professional standard), reading and listening to classical music, being a particularly enthusiastic opera lover. Also as a form of relaxation between novels, he put together highly complicated and sophisticated Meccano models.
In 1932, Raymond married Sylvia Ray, who gave him a son. They were together until his death fifty three years later. Prohibition and the ensuing US Great Depression (1929–1939), had given rise to the Chicago gangster culture just prior to World War II. This, combined with her book trade experience, made him realise that there was a big demand for gangster stories. He wrote as R. Raymond, James Hadley Chase, James L. Docherty, Ambrose Grant and Raymond Marshall.
During World War II he served in the Royal Air Force, achieving the rank of Squadron Leader. Chase edited the RAF Journal with David Langdon and had several stories from it published after the war in the book Slipstream: A Royal Air Force Anthology.
Raymond moved to France in 1956 and then to Switzerland in 1969, living a secluded life in Corseaux-sur-Vevey, on Lake Geneva, from 1974. He eventually died there peacefully on 6 February 1985.
In 1932, Raymond married Sylvia Ray, who gave him a son. They were together until his death fifty three years later. Prohibition and the ensuing US Great Depression (1929–1939), had given rise to the Chicago gangster culture just prior to World War II. This, combined with her book trade experience, made him realise that there was a big demand for gangster stories. He wrote as R. Raymond, James Hadley Chase, James L. Docherty, Ambrose Grant and Raymond Marshall.
During World War II he served in the Royal Air Force, achieving the rank of Squadron Leader. Chase edited the RAF Journal with David Langdon and had several stories from it published after the war in the book Slipstream: A Royal Air Force Anthology.
Raymond moved to France in 1956 and then to Switzerland in 1969, living a secluded life in Corseaux-sur-Vevey, on Lake Geneva, from 1974. He eventually died there peacefully on 6 February 1985.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 278 reviews
July 13, 2019
It's probably the best book by James Hadley Chase. A very well written book; unputdownable, and one of the best crime thriller novels of all time. Villain is unforgettable, and so does Miss Blandish.
Its one of the Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century.
Its one of the Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century.
May 4, 2015
”Slim, still grinning, held the knife-point just below Riley’s navel and put his weight on the handle. The knife went in slowly as if it were going into butter. Riley drew his lips back. HIs mouth opened. There was a long hiss of expelled breath as he stood there. Tears sprang from his eyes. Slim stepped back, leaving the black hilt of the knife growing out of Riley like a horrible malformation. Riley began to give low, quavering cries. His knees were buckling but the cord held him up. His weight on the ropes pushed the knife handle up so that the blade slowly cut deeper inside him.
Slim sat on the grass a few feet away and gave himself a cigarette. He pushed his hat over his eyes and squinted at Riley.
‘Take your time, Pal, We ain’t in a hurry.’ He gave him a crooked smile as his fingers traced the sky. ‘Ain’t them clouds pretty?’
Slim Grissom is a psychopath. His tendencies for cruelty manifested themselves when he was still in grade school. He cut up small animals, and tortured little girls. He liked to inflict pain. James Hadley Chase created Slim Grissom. He was a bookseller in London when he decided to write a hardboiled American gangster novel. With the help of an American slang dictionary and books on the criminal world of America he wrote his first novel, No Orchids for Miss Blandish, over six weekends. Published in 1939 the book become one of the best-sold books of the decade. It was made into a play and was filmed in 1948 by a British film crew. In 1971 under the name, The Grissom Gang, the American version directed by Robert Aldrich was released. The book hit a nerve.
I’m still picking the GRIT out of my teeth.
Two guys named Riley and Bailey had this idea to steal the Blandish necklace worth fifty thousand dollars. The necklace turns out to be attached to the beautiful daughter of one of the richest men in the state. As tends to happen when stupid people plan a crime everything goes wrong and they end up with the girl and the necklace.
”I know these rich girls,” Bailey complained, his upper lip curling in disgust. “They don’t know what they’re here for.”
Now when two-bit thieves step up to a kidnapping they tend to get over their heads in a hurry. As you have already experienced from the opening quote to this review Slim Grissom and his gang get in on the action. They take the girl and bring her home to Mom. Ma Grissom, the leader of this nefarious organization, is as ugly as Miss Blandish is beautiful.
”From her chair, Ma Grissom soaked Miss Blandish into her brain. She was both transfixed and irritated by her beauty. Ma was a hulking contrast to the girl. Ma Grissom was big, grossly fat and lumpy. Flesh hung in two loose sacks either side of her chin. Her crinkly hair was dyed a hard, dull black. Her little eyes were glittering and as impersonal as glass. Her big floppy chest sparkled with cheap jewelry. She wore a dirty cream colored lace dress. Her huge arms, mottled with veins, bulged through the lace network like dough compressed in a sieve. Physically she was as powerful as a man. She was a hideous old woman, and every member of the gang, including Slim, was afraid of her.”
Ma Grissom from the 1971 movie
Ma has a plan on how to get the money and get away clean, but Slim unexpectedly throws a monkey wrench into the carefully designed scheme. He decides he wants to keep the girl. Now this takes everyone by surprise because he’s never shown any interest in girls except as creatures weaker than him that he could inflict pain upon. Miss Blandish is beautiful “like something out of a story book” and she is brittle, helpless and most importantly she is in his grasp.
Slim gets his way.
”The naked lamp, swinging in the ceiling, suddenly went out. The darkness came down on her like a smothering blanket. She felt his cold hands turning her on her back so that she lay across the bed, her head hanging over the side. Her hair hung an inch off the dirty carpet. She stared up into the blackness, the tears welling up in her eyes and running down her face. The hot air of the room suddenly rushed over her body and a cruel and impossible weight pinned her to the crumbling sheets. Her resistance was gone, hidden by a heavy cloud that wrapped her brain. She whispered to him a small, panic-ridden voice. ”You’re hurting me...”
Linden Travers who played Miss Blandish in the 1948 movie version
Yes... at this point in the book I found my hand over my mouth. I was having trouble catching my breath. The cruelty of the moment, of someone who had grown up in this bubble of security finding herself in an impossible situation that she is left shattered unable to even fathom how or why her life took such a sad and sordid turn.
Chase received the attention of the literary establishment in particular by George Orwell who wrote an essay highlighting the virtues of this book. He even compares No Orchids for Miss Blandish with William Faulkner’s work.
”To begin with, its central story bears a very marked resemblance to William Faulkner's novel, Sanctuary. Secondly, it is not, as one might expect, the product of an illiterate hack, but a brilliant piece of writing, with hardly a wasted word or a jarring note anywhere. Thirdly, the whole book, récit as well as dialogue, is written in the American language; the author, an Englishman who has (I believe) never been in the United States, seems to have made a complete mental transference to the American underworld. Fourthly, the book sold, according to its publishers, no less than half a million copies.”
James Hadley Chase keeping his writing inspiration close to hand in the form of Mylene Demongeot who starred in a film adaptation of one of his novels.
Orwell makes the case that the book is really all about the pursuit of power.
The book contains eight full-dress murders, an unassessable number of casual killings and woundings, an exhumation (with a careful reminder of the stench), the flogging of Miss Blandish, the torture of another woman with red-hot cigarette-ends, a strip-tease act, a third-degree scene of unheard-of cruelty and much else of the same kind. It assumes great sexual sophistication in its readers (there is a scene, for instance, in which a gangster, presumably of masochistic tendency, has an orgasm in the moment of being knifed), and it takes for granted the most complete corruption and self-seeking as the norm of human behaviour. The detective, for instance, is almost as great a rogue as the gangsters, and actuated by nearly the same motives. Like them, he is in pursuit of "five hundred grand." It is necessary to the machinery of the story that Mr. Blandish should be anxious to get his daughter back, but apart from this, such things as affection, friendship, good nature or even ordinary politeness simply do not enter. Nor, to any great extent does normal sexuality. Ultimately only one motive is at work throughout the whole story: the pursuit of power.
For those of you interested in more about what Orwell had to say about this book here is a link to the essay. http://gaslight.mtroyal.ab.ca/Orwell-...
So much happens in this book, there is not a wasted page. It is lurid and filled with tough talk set in a world where compassion is a dirty word. I guarantee you will cringe, and you too will want revenge. Your hands will itch for your own Tommy Gun. You might even dream about pulling the trigger and watching Slim and Ma and Eddie and Flynn and Woppy all dissolve under a hail of bullets.
For another opinion of this book don't miss the excellent review by my friend Mike Sullivan. The Excellent Sullivan Review
Slim sat on the grass a few feet away and gave himself a cigarette. He pushed his hat over his eyes and squinted at Riley.
‘Take your time, Pal, We ain’t in a hurry.’ He gave him a crooked smile as his fingers traced the sky. ‘Ain’t them clouds pretty?’
Slim Grissom is a psychopath. His tendencies for cruelty manifested themselves when he was still in grade school. He cut up small animals, and tortured little girls. He liked to inflict pain. James Hadley Chase created Slim Grissom. He was a bookseller in London when he decided to write a hardboiled American gangster novel. With the help of an American slang dictionary and books on the criminal world of America he wrote his first novel, No Orchids for Miss Blandish, over six weekends. Published in 1939 the book become one of the best-sold books of the decade. It was made into a play and was filmed in 1948 by a British film crew. In 1971 under the name, The Grissom Gang, the American version directed by Robert Aldrich was released. The book hit a nerve.
I’m still picking the GRIT out of my teeth.
Two guys named Riley and Bailey had this idea to steal the Blandish necklace worth fifty thousand dollars. The necklace turns out to be attached to the beautiful daughter of one of the richest men in the state. As tends to happen when stupid people plan a crime everything goes wrong and they end up with the girl and the necklace.
”I know these rich girls,” Bailey complained, his upper lip curling in disgust. “They don’t know what they’re here for.”
Now when two-bit thieves step up to a kidnapping they tend to get over their heads in a hurry. As you have already experienced from the opening quote to this review Slim Grissom and his gang get in on the action. They take the girl and bring her home to Mom. Ma Grissom, the leader of this nefarious organization, is as ugly as Miss Blandish is beautiful.
”From her chair, Ma Grissom soaked Miss Blandish into her brain. She was both transfixed and irritated by her beauty. Ma was a hulking contrast to the girl. Ma Grissom was big, grossly fat and lumpy. Flesh hung in two loose sacks either side of her chin. Her crinkly hair was dyed a hard, dull black. Her little eyes were glittering and as impersonal as glass. Her big floppy chest sparkled with cheap jewelry. She wore a dirty cream colored lace dress. Her huge arms, mottled with veins, bulged through the lace network like dough compressed in a sieve. Physically she was as powerful as a man. She was a hideous old woman, and every member of the gang, including Slim, was afraid of her.”
Ma Grissom from the 1971 movie
Ma has a plan on how to get the money and get away clean, but Slim unexpectedly throws a monkey wrench into the carefully designed scheme. He decides he wants to keep the girl. Now this takes everyone by surprise because he’s never shown any interest in girls except as creatures weaker than him that he could inflict pain upon. Miss Blandish is beautiful “like something out of a story book” and she is brittle, helpless and most importantly she is in his grasp.
Slim gets his way.
”The naked lamp, swinging in the ceiling, suddenly went out. The darkness came down on her like a smothering blanket. She felt his cold hands turning her on her back so that she lay across the bed, her head hanging over the side. Her hair hung an inch off the dirty carpet. She stared up into the blackness, the tears welling up in her eyes and running down her face. The hot air of the room suddenly rushed over her body and a cruel and impossible weight pinned her to the crumbling sheets. Her resistance was gone, hidden by a heavy cloud that wrapped her brain. She whispered to him a small, panic-ridden voice. ”You’re hurting me...”
Linden Travers who played Miss Blandish in the 1948 movie version
Yes... at this point in the book I found my hand over my mouth. I was having trouble catching my breath. The cruelty of the moment, of someone who had grown up in this bubble of security finding herself in an impossible situation that she is left shattered unable to even fathom how or why her life took such a sad and sordid turn.
Chase received the attention of the literary establishment in particular by George Orwell who wrote an essay highlighting the virtues of this book. He even compares No Orchids for Miss Blandish with William Faulkner’s work.
”To begin with, its central story bears a very marked resemblance to William Faulkner's novel, Sanctuary. Secondly, it is not, as one might expect, the product of an illiterate hack, but a brilliant piece of writing, with hardly a wasted word or a jarring note anywhere. Thirdly, the whole book, récit as well as dialogue, is written in the American language; the author, an Englishman who has (I believe) never been in the United States, seems to have made a complete mental transference to the American underworld. Fourthly, the book sold, according to its publishers, no less than half a million copies.”
James Hadley Chase keeping his writing inspiration close to hand in the form of Mylene Demongeot who starred in a film adaptation of one of his novels.
Orwell makes the case that the book is really all about the pursuit of power.
The book contains eight full-dress murders, an unassessable number of casual killings and woundings, an exhumation (with a careful reminder of the stench), the flogging of Miss Blandish, the torture of another woman with red-hot cigarette-ends, a strip-tease act, a third-degree scene of unheard-of cruelty and much else of the same kind. It assumes great sexual sophistication in its readers (there is a scene, for instance, in which a gangster, presumably of masochistic tendency, has an orgasm in the moment of being knifed), and it takes for granted the most complete corruption and self-seeking as the norm of human behaviour. The detective, for instance, is almost as great a rogue as the gangsters, and actuated by nearly the same motives. Like them, he is in pursuit of "five hundred grand." It is necessary to the machinery of the story that Mr. Blandish should be anxious to get his daughter back, but apart from this, such things as affection, friendship, good nature or even ordinary politeness simply do not enter. Nor, to any great extent does normal sexuality. Ultimately only one motive is at work throughout the whole story: the pursuit of power.
For those of you interested in more about what Orwell had to say about this book here is a link to the essay. http://gaslight.mtroyal.ab.ca/Orwell-...
So much happens in this book, there is not a wasted page. It is lurid and filled with tough talk set in a world where compassion is a dirty word. I guarantee you will cringe, and you too will want revenge. Your hands will itch for your own Tommy Gun. You might even dream about pulling the trigger and watching Slim and Ma and Eddie and Flynn and Woppy all dissolve under a hail of bullets.
For another opinion of this book don't miss the excellent review by my friend Mike Sullivan. The Excellent Sullivan Review
January 26, 2014
The total lack of mystery (we always know exactly who’s done what to who, why that guy got knocked off, what this cop is thinking) doesn’t matter.
The casual sexism (One of the important facts of life that Paula had learned the hard way was not to keep any man waiting. ) (and if you’re a female in this novel you’re going to get your bottom patted) doesn’t matter.
The cardboard characters (There was Eddie Schultz, one time bodyguard of Murder Incorporate. There was Woppy, a clever safe expert…Slim Grissom’s background was typical of a pathological killer) don’t matter.
The beyond-cliché dialogue
Anyone who touches her has me to reckon with.
I don’t know nothing about nothing!
You’ve got nothing on me.
I don’t know what you’re talking about, copper
Your only hope is to come clean
Let’s make it quick and gory.
You’re surrounded! Come out with your hands in the air! You haven’t a chance!
doesn’t matter.
The shock realisation that this hardestboiled American crime thriller was written by a public school educated upper middle class English gent (this was a jolt similar to realising that McNulty and Stringer Bell were played by English actors in The Wire, I didn’t know that until half way through!) doesn’t matter.
WHAT DID MATTER WAS
That one of the career opportunities open to young women in those days was being a "gun moll". (Although it did sound like a minimum wage kind of gig).
That the victim of this robbery-turned-kidnapping is always called “the Blandish girl” or “Miss Blandish” occasionally but never ever is given a first name. That was a brilliant touch.
That this was one of those books I read in one day because I couldn’t stop. It goes at 97 miles an hour.
That the end has a ghastly Shakespearian inevitability. It can be no other way.
Noir pulp brilliance from 1939.
The casual sexism (One of the important facts of life that Paula had learned the hard way was not to keep any man waiting. ) (and if you’re a female in this novel you’re going to get your bottom patted) doesn’t matter.
The cardboard characters (There was Eddie Schultz, one time bodyguard of Murder Incorporate. There was Woppy, a clever safe expert…Slim Grissom’s background was typical of a pathological killer) don’t matter.
The beyond-cliché dialogue
Anyone who touches her has me to reckon with.
I don’t know nothing about nothing!
You’ve got nothing on me.
I don’t know what you’re talking about, copper
Your only hope is to come clean
Let’s make it quick and gory.
You’re surrounded! Come out with your hands in the air! You haven’t a chance!
doesn’t matter.
The shock realisation that this hardestboiled American crime thriller was written by a public school educated upper middle class English gent (this was a jolt similar to realising that McNulty and Stringer Bell were played by English actors in The Wire, I didn’t know that until half way through!) doesn’t matter.
WHAT DID MATTER WAS
That one of the career opportunities open to young women in those days was being a "gun moll". (Although it did sound like a minimum wage kind of gig).
That the victim of this robbery-turned-kidnapping is always called “the Blandish girl” or “Miss Blandish” occasionally but never ever is given a first name. That was a brilliant touch.
That this was one of those books I read in one day because I couldn’t stop. It goes at 97 miles an hour.
That the end has a ghastly Shakespearian inevitability. It can be no other way.
Noir pulp brilliance from 1939.
January 3, 2017
It looks a lot more American than English. with gangster and all, the sort you might find in Pulp Fiction - no character has any morals whatsoever and there is a lot of sex and violence (You remember
Ezekiel's biblical verses? That kind of thing), and everything is stereotyped and cliche. This one is worth reading if only for Orwell's essay on same, in which he analyses the book and genre and argues that it is all about power-struggle and realism (big fish eats small fish, survival of the fittest kind of realism) without make-believe game of morality. There is no room for such stuff as compassion in most characters, Miss Blandish who suffers the most is dehumanized to a level at which her first name is never revealed. She is just used, just like a couple of other women are, in what is a big game of chess played by multiple players all men except one Ma Garrison - who is so clever and strong that she could be a feminist inspiration had she not been such a misogynist. One would argue that John Krammer and Joker (Heath Ledger one) are natural off-springs of this 'realism'. It somehow made it to Le monde list of 100 best books of the century and also inspired a movie, that has been unanimously called the worst movie ever by critics. I'm gonna watch it.
But let us talk about more important things. Have you ever lost consciousness upon being hit on the side of your head? Have you made anyone lose consciousness that particular way? Or saw anyone outside movies or books fainting because of that? From where did these crime novels get this idea? Try it, you will only start a fight. And So take it from expert, unless you have drugs or chemicals handy, it is easier to kill a person than make him/her lose consciousness. Believe me, I tell from personal experience
Ezekiel's biblical verses? That kind of thing), and everything is stereotyped and cliche. This one is worth reading if only for Orwell's essay on same, in which he analyses the book and genre and argues that it is all about power-struggle and realism (big fish eats small fish, survival of the fittest kind of realism) without make-believe game of morality. There is no room for such stuff as compassion in most characters, Miss Blandish who suffers the most is dehumanized to a level at which her first name is never revealed. She is just used, just like a couple of other women are, in what is a big game of chess played by multiple players all men except one Ma Garrison - who is so clever and strong that she could be a feminist inspiration had she not been such a misogynist. One would argue that John Krammer and Joker (Heath Ledger one) are natural off-springs of this 'realism'. It somehow made it to Le monde list of 100 best books of the century and also inspired a movie, that has been unanimously called the worst movie ever by critics. I'm gonna watch it.
But let us talk about more important things. Have you ever lost consciousness upon being hit on the side of your head? Have you made anyone lose consciousness that particular way? Or saw anyone outside movies or books fainting because of that? From where did these crime novels get this idea? Try it, you will only start a fight. And So take it from expert, unless you have drugs or chemicals handy, it is easier to kill a person than make him/her lose consciousness. Believe me, I tell from personal experience
February 7, 2017
Highest Recommendation!
A relentlessly brutal page-turner.
At the end of the novel my heart was pounding and threatening to jump up into my throat.
One of the best of the classic era hardboiled thrillers, up there with the very best of Hammett and Cain.
A "must-read" for all fans of the noir genre.
Best described by George Orwell: "... not, as one might expect, the product of an illiterate hack, but a brilliant piece of writing, with hardly a wasted word or jarring note anywhere."
The above quote is from Cult Fiction which I found quoted in Paperback Confidential: Crime Writers of the Paperback Era
" 'Come and get me!', she yelled. 'Come on, you yellow punks! Come and get me!' "
A relentlessly brutal page-turner.
At the end of the novel my heart was pounding and threatening to jump up into my throat.
One of the best of the classic era hardboiled thrillers, up there with the very best of Hammett and Cain.
A "must-read" for all fans of the noir genre.
Best described by George Orwell: "... not, as one might expect, the product of an illiterate hack, but a brilliant piece of writing, with hardly a wasted word or jarring note anywhere."
The above quote is from Cult Fiction which I found quoted in Paperback Confidential: Crime Writers of the Paperback Era
" 'Come and get me!', she yelled. 'Come on, you yellow punks! Come and get me!' "
September 4, 2020
First published in 1939,this was the book that firmly established James Hadley Chase as a bestselling thriller writer.
It was a huge commercial success but also created a lot of controversy,and was met with hostility by critics.
Wealthy heiress Miss Blandish is kidnapped by a criminal gang,but their plan is foiled when another gang outsmarts the first one and kidnaps her instead.
The book depicted extensive violence,which would have been very controversial for its time.
Chase subsequently made substantial revisions to the text in 1961.
It was the revised edition I read and it wasn't particularly shocking.I'd like to read the original 1939 version to see what the fuss was all about.
The book even attracted the attention of George Orwell and he wrote an essay about it.
The book was adapted as a stage play and as several movies.Chase also wrote a sequel,The Flesh of the Orchid,in which Miss Blandish's daughter gets kidnapped.
For me personally,it's not Chase's best book.He wrote a whole lot of page turning thrillers and many of them were better than this book.
It was a huge commercial success but also created a lot of controversy,and was met with hostility by critics.
Wealthy heiress Miss Blandish is kidnapped by a criminal gang,but their plan is foiled when another gang outsmarts the first one and kidnaps her instead.
The book depicted extensive violence,which would have been very controversial for its time.
Chase subsequently made substantial revisions to the text in 1961.
It was the revised edition I read and it wasn't particularly shocking.I'd like to read the original 1939 version to see what the fuss was all about.
The book even attracted the attention of George Orwell and he wrote an essay about it.
The book was adapted as a stage play and as several movies.Chase also wrote a sequel,The Flesh of the Orchid,in which Miss Blandish's daughter gets kidnapped.
For me personally,it's not Chase's best book.He wrote a whole lot of page turning thrillers and many of them were better than this book.
December 8, 2020
This is the first novel by René Lodge Brabazon Raymond writing under pseudonym James Hardly Chase. First published in 1939 it was influenced by the American crime writer James M. Cain and the stories in the pulp magazine Black Mask. Chase reportedly wrote the book as a bet to out-do The Postman Always Rings Twice. It was a great success setting the stage for Raymond’s spectacular literary success. The book has been included in the Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century.
Prohibition, Depression and the Chicago gang wars gave Chase enough fodder for his debut novel. A thriller till the last page, you are glued as the storyline and action holds you in complete attention. The twists and turns add to the overall thrill. The writing is similar to screenplay and you feel as if you are watching a movie rather than reading a novel!
Prohibition, Depression and the Chicago gang wars gave Chase enough fodder for his debut novel. A thriller till the last page, you are glued as the storyline and action holds you in complete attention. The twists and turns add to the overall thrill. The writing is similar to screenplay and you feel as if you are watching a movie rather than reading a novel!
November 25, 2012
This is a superb crime thriller about a jewelry heist that becomes a murder and kidnapping.
I'm not going to give away any more of the plot other than to say it is action-packed and completely involving. I made the mistake of reading this while having lunch, and looked down in horror to see that I had indeed eaten an entire sleeve of Townhouse crackers while caught up in the story.
If you like a raw, gritty, no-frills, down and dirty thrill ride...I'm out of cliches - just read the damned thing.
I'm not going to give away any more of the plot other than to say it is action-packed and completely involving. I made the mistake of reading this while having lunch, and looked down in horror to see that I had indeed eaten an entire sleeve of Townhouse crackers while caught up in the story.
If you like a raw, gritty, no-frills, down and dirty thrill ride...I'm out of cliches - just read the damned thing.
December 26, 2012
No Orchids For Miss Blandish: James Hadley Chase's First Novel
I'm quite sure that my rating might have been a bit higher had I actually been reading No Orchids For Miss Blandish as James Hadley Chaseoriginally wrote it in 1939. However, having difficulty finding a copy, I thought I would be pleased with the copy I downloaded on my Kindle. Pictured is the 1951 Harlequin paperback edition. Though I have reason to doubt that even that contains the content of that edition.
I found myself distracted by anachronisms appearing throughout the edition I read. In a novel written in 1939, Slim Grisson has two televisions to which he is glued for hours at a time. During a climactic chase scene, the police use a helicopter to track down Slim and Miss Blandish. Once again, the television enters the picture with law enforcement having the networks to broadcast the facts of Slim's escape and a request that anyone with information call in to aid in his apprehension.
For a comparison between the various editions of "No Orchids for Miss Blandish," I highly recommend http://www.jottings.ca/john/kelly/sba... , containing an in depth analysis of the novel, its various editions, and its critical reception, compiled by Ernest Kelly.
First edition, the genuine article.
Chase, the Author, and the writing of "No Orchids for Miss Blandish
James Hadley Chase (24 December 1906 – 6 February 1985)
Chase was born René Lodge Brabazon Raymond. Chase was but a number of pseudonyms under which he wrote ninety novels. He served in the RAF during World War II, allegedly arising to the rank of Squadron Leader. That appears the stuff of legend, possibly fostered by Chase himself.
Professionally he was a wholesale bookseller. He became intrigued with the American Gangsters, particularly those working in the midwest, rather than the large syndicates out of New York and Chicago.
Using maps and a dictionary of American Slang, Chase claimed to have written "No Orchids" in six days. Other sources indicate the span was over twelve days. But one cannot discount how prolific an author Chase became.
The Story
"No Orchids for Miss Blandish" appears to be a blend of Ma Barker and her gang of sons, and the very basic plot line of Sanctuary by William Faulkner.
Ma Barker, such a sweet face. She died with a Thompson in her hands in 1935.
Miss Blandish, whose first name we never know, the stand in for Faulkner's Temple Drake, is the daughter of millionaire John Blandish. Celebrating her engagement to a suitable young gentleman, her father bestows on his daughter a diamond necklace worth $50,000.
Movie Poster for "The Story of Temple Drake," starring Miriam Hopkins
A small time gang, Riley, Bailey, and "Old Sam" take on a job to big for their outfit and kidnap Miss Blandish. During the snatch, Bailey murders Miss Blandish's fiance'. If they're caught, it's the chair for all of them.
But not to worry, Eddie Schulz, a member of Ma Grisson's gang, spots the Riley gang and recognizes Miss Blandish. In the world of gangsters, the more powerful group wipes out the inept bunch who initially snatched Miss Blandish.
Ma Grisson is ecstatic. The blame can be put on the Riley gang. While the Grisson's can reap the benefit and collect a million dollar ransom from John Blandish.
There's only one fly in the ointment. That's Ma's beloved son, Slim, a , shall we say, deranged, depraved, and psychotic killer. Slim's never had a girlfriend. He claims Miss Blandish as his own, bucking Ma's authority for the first time in his life, even pulling a knife on Ma. There's a change of authority in the gang that takes place before the reader's eyes.
Of course, Miss Blandish is not the type of young woman to have anything to do with someone like Slim, who has greasy stringy hair and has a tendency to wear dirty clothes. Ma engages the services of Doc Williams to drug Miss Blandish so Slim can work out his repressions to his heart's content.
Enter Dave Fenner, Chase's PI. Fenner is a former crime beat reporter for a newspaper. He's the best, with connections to the underworld and a gift for digging up information. John Blandish retains Fenner with a $3,000.00 check and a future payoff of $30,000.00 should he find the men responsible for kidnapping his daughter. He's convinced that his daughter is dead. He wants the men that killed her.
The Payoff
Though never critically lauded, Chase became the king of the European thriller. Chase's plotting keeps the reader to keep flipping the pages to see what happens next.
I found the dialog attributable to Chase having watched to many Jimmy Cagney movies. "Yeah, Copper, come n' get me. Top of the World Ma!"
Characterization is sparse, though Chase clearly outlines Fenner more clearly with future Fenners in mind.
"No Orchids for Miss Blandish" has been staged in England, was filmed in England in 1948, and refilmed as "The Grissom Gang" in the United States by Robert Aldrich in 1971. Though I've not seen it, the reviews I've read are highly favorable.
Movie Poster for the 1948 English Film
Movie Poster for the American re-make, 1971
So, am I done with Chase? Maybe not. Not if I can get hold of the genuine article not "updated" for the modern reader.
RATING: 3.5 STARS
"I'm ashamed of myself. I'm a person without any background, any character or any faith. Some people could cope with this because they believe in God. I haven't believed in anything except having a good time.” She clenched and unclenched her fists, then she looked up; her fixed smile made Fenner feel bad." Miss Blandish to Dave Fenner
I'm quite sure that my rating might have been a bit higher had I actually been reading No Orchids For Miss Blandish as James Hadley Chaseoriginally wrote it in 1939. However, having difficulty finding a copy, I thought I would be pleased with the copy I downloaded on my Kindle. Pictured is the 1951 Harlequin paperback edition. Though I have reason to doubt that even that contains the content of that edition.
I found myself distracted by anachronisms appearing throughout the edition I read. In a novel written in 1939, Slim Grisson has two televisions to which he is glued for hours at a time. During a climactic chase scene, the police use a helicopter to track down Slim and Miss Blandish. Once again, the television enters the picture with law enforcement having the networks to broadcast the facts of Slim's escape and a request that anyone with information call in to aid in his apprehension.
For a comparison between the various editions of "No Orchids for Miss Blandish," I highly recommend http://www.jottings.ca/john/kelly/sba... , containing an in depth analysis of the novel, its various editions, and its critical reception, compiled by Ernest Kelly.
First edition, the genuine article.
Chase, the Author, and the writing of "No Orchids for Miss Blandish
James Hadley Chase (24 December 1906 – 6 February 1985)
Chase was born René Lodge Brabazon Raymond. Chase was but a number of pseudonyms under which he wrote ninety novels. He served in the RAF during World War II, allegedly arising to the rank of Squadron Leader. That appears the stuff of legend, possibly fostered by Chase himself.
Professionally he was a wholesale bookseller. He became intrigued with the American Gangsters, particularly those working in the midwest, rather than the large syndicates out of New York and Chicago.
Using maps and a dictionary of American Slang, Chase claimed to have written "No Orchids" in six days. Other sources indicate the span was over twelve days. But one cannot discount how prolific an author Chase became.
The Story
"No Orchids for Miss Blandish" appears to be a blend of Ma Barker and her gang of sons, and the very basic plot line of Sanctuary by William Faulkner.
Ma Barker, such a sweet face. She died with a Thompson in her hands in 1935.
Miss Blandish, whose first name we never know, the stand in for Faulkner's Temple Drake, is the daughter of millionaire John Blandish. Celebrating her engagement to a suitable young gentleman, her father bestows on his daughter a diamond necklace worth $50,000.
Movie Poster for "The Story of Temple Drake," starring Miriam Hopkins
A small time gang, Riley, Bailey, and "Old Sam" take on a job to big for their outfit and kidnap Miss Blandish. During the snatch, Bailey murders Miss Blandish's fiance'. If they're caught, it's the chair for all of them.
But not to worry, Eddie Schulz, a member of Ma Grisson's gang, spots the Riley gang and recognizes Miss Blandish. In the world of gangsters, the more powerful group wipes out the inept bunch who initially snatched Miss Blandish.
Ma Grisson is ecstatic. The blame can be put on the Riley gang. While the Grisson's can reap the benefit and collect a million dollar ransom from John Blandish.
There's only one fly in the ointment. That's Ma's beloved son, Slim, a , shall we say, deranged, depraved, and psychotic killer. Slim's never had a girlfriend. He claims Miss Blandish as his own, bucking Ma's authority for the first time in his life, even pulling a knife on Ma. There's a change of authority in the gang that takes place before the reader's eyes.
Of course, Miss Blandish is not the type of young woman to have anything to do with someone like Slim, who has greasy stringy hair and has a tendency to wear dirty clothes. Ma engages the services of Doc Williams to drug Miss Blandish so Slim can work out his repressions to his heart's content.
Enter Dave Fenner, Chase's PI. Fenner is a former crime beat reporter for a newspaper. He's the best, with connections to the underworld and a gift for digging up information. John Blandish retains Fenner with a $3,000.00 check and a future payoff of $30,000.00 should he find the men responsible for kidnapping his daughter. He's convinced that his daughter is dead. He wants the men that killed her.
The Payoff
Though never critically lauded, Chase became the king of the European thriller. Chase's plotting keeps the reader to keep flipping the pages to see what happens next.
I found the dialog attributable to Chase having watched to many Jimmy Cagney movies. "Yeah, Copper, come n' get me. Top of the World Ma!"
Characterization is sparse, though Chase clearly outlines Fenner more clearly with future Fenners in mind.
"No Orchids for Miss Blandish" has been staged in England, was filmed in England in 1948, and refilmed as "The Grissom Gang" in the United States by Robert Aldrich in 1971. Though I've not seen it, the reviews I've read are highly favorable.
Movie Poster for the 1948 English Film
Movie Poster for the American re-make, 1971
So, am I done with Chase? Maybe not. Not if I can get hold of the genuine article not "updated" for the modern reader.
RATING: 3.5 STARS
November 24, 2012
This is one seriously grim novel.
It's hard to believe that this was written in 1939 by a first time author; it is so incredibly graphic, even compared to the great hard-boiled authors of the time like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, in it's depiction of the gangland behaviour of the time and the minutiae of murder, in addition to which it is a fully accomplished piece of genre writing that you might expect to read from an experienced master.
Broken up in to four chapters and they may as well have been labelled "part" instead of chapter, you are first treated to the almost spontaneous kidnapping on an heiress (the eponymous Miss Blandish) then the fall out (double crosses essential,) before meeting a private detective who is belated put on the case and then finally the longest section being the denouement which I could spoil but instead I'll simply tell you it is a fast paced, dark passage that dragged my rating up from 3 to 4 stars on its own.
The gang portrayed in this book are famously based on Ma Barker and her boys and they felt like they could easily have been in Boardwalk Empire, whether that is something to do with the stereotypes created by Chase being reused and improved on over time or just the accuracy of Boardwalk Empire is another matter. My point, if you can call it one, is that this is Guys and Dolls territory noir, with a heavy spatter of blood and evil.
I'm glad we read this as part of the Pulp Fiction group but I can't say I'm in any rush to read more Chase.
It's hard to believe that this was written in 1939 by a first time author; it is so incredibly graphic, even compared to the great hard-boiled authors of the time like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, in it's depiction of the gangland behaviour of the time and the minutiae of murder, in addition to which it is a fully accomplished piece of genre writing that you might expect to read from an experienced master.
Broken up in to four chapters and they may as well have been labelled "part" instead of chapter, you are first treated to the almost spontaneous kidnapping on an heiress (the eponymous Miss Blandish) then the fall out (double crosses essential,) before meeting a private detective who is belated put on the case and then finally the longest section being the denouement which I could spoil but instead I'll simply tell you it is a fast paced, dark passage that dragged my rating up from 3 to 4 stars on its own.
The gang portrayed in this book are famously based on Ma Barker and her boys and they felt like they could easily have been in Boardwalk Empire, whether that is something to do with the stereotypes created by Chase being reused and improved on over time or just the accuracy of Boardwalk Empire is another matter. My point, if you can call it one, is that this is Guys and Dolls territory noir, with a heavy spatter of blood and evil.
I'm glad we read this as part of the Pulp Fiction group but I can't say I'm in any rush to read more Chase.
September 4, 2019
"His work falls somewhere in that gray area between mystery and thrillers. Although he is British, his work is a far cry from your run-of-the-mill Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes stories. It is violent in nature and often centering around capers...this book is a classic (of a type)...it still remains a gut-wrenching story of the sadistic kidnapping of Miss Blandish, a young, beautiful heiress."
(Art Bourgeau in "The Mystery Lover's Companion")
"No Orchids for Miss Blandish" is one of the cruelest novels I have ever read.
This is a violent and gripping story with a bleak and sad ending.
Don't miss this unputdownable thriller that will keep you on the edge-of-your-seat.
(Art Bourgeau in "The Mystery Lover's Companion")
"No Orchids for Miss Blandish" is one of the cruelest novels I have ever read.
This is a violent and gripping story with a bleak and sad ending.
Don't miss this unputdownable thriller that will keep you on the edge-of-your-seat.
July 14, 2015
هیچوقت خیلی اهل خوندن رمانهای پلیسی نبودم،در واقع فکر کنم تنها رمان پلیسی که جز این کتاب خوندم قاضی و جلادش بوده.اما یه روز دیدم که امیلی امرایی تو توییترش نوشته که کسی برای دوشیزه بلندیش دسته گل ارکیده نفرستاد یکی از بهترینهای رمان پلیسیه همین شد که خریدمش و الان هم خوندمش،با اینکه تجربهی زیادی تو خوندن کتابهای پلیسی ندارم فکر میکنم واقعا یکی از بهترینهاست و این واقعیت که این کتاب در سال ۱۹۳۹ نوشته شده و اولین کتاب نویسنده بوده تا حدی باورنکردنیه برام!
این رمان از اون داستانهایی نیست که شما رو با خودش همراه میکنه تا به دنبال جنایتکار بگردید بلکه از همون اول با جنایتکارها شروع میشه و دقیقا میدونید چه اتفاقی داره می افته و نویسنده هیچ جا نخواسته بهتون بگه آهان!دیدی اشتباه میکردی؟دیدی نتونستی حدس بزنی که چی قراره بشه؟
شخصیتپردازی خیلی خیلی خوب بود،برداشت من اینه که تو اکثر رمانهای پلیسی شخصیتهای زن بیشتر نقش دکور رو دارن اما اینجا علاوه بر شخصیتهای دکوری ماما گریسون رو داریم که رهبر یه گروه جنایتکاره،یا خود دوشیزه بلندیش.
دیدی که نویسنده به جنایت و جنایتکار و قربانی جنایت داشت درخور توجه بود،دقتی که به حالت روانی شخصیت ها به خصوص قربانی داشت عالی بود.مثلا یه جا هست که دوشیزه بلندیش وقتی فرصت فرار براش فراهم شده به کسی که این فرصت رو براش فراهم کرده میگه که میخواد تا آخرین لحظهی زندگیش پیش اون آدم ربایی که این چند ماه رو زندانیش کرده و باهاش گذرونده بمونه و یا وضعیتش بعد از آزادی و ....
ترجمهی کتاب هم از اون دست ترجمههای روون بود که مترجم خیلی جاها از اصطلاحات و معادلات کاملا فارسی استفاده کرده بدون اینکه مثل بعضی ترجمه ها که همین کار رو کردن آدم حس کنه تو متن داستان دست برده مترجم،یه جاهایی کیف میکردم از این ترجمه.مثلا از "جانا سخن از زبان ما میگویی"و اینجور عبارات استفاده کرده بدون اینکه تو ذوق بزنه و البته عبارت اصلی رو هم تو پاورقی آورده.
این رمان از اون داستانهایی نیست که شما رو با خودش همراه میکنه تا به دنبال جنایتکار بگردید بلکه از همون اول با جنایتکارها شروع میشه و دقیقا میدونید چه اتفاقی داره می افته و نویسنده هیچ جا نخواسته بهتون بگه آهان!دیدی اشتباه میکردی؟دیدی نتونستی حدس بزنی که چی قراره بشه؟
شخصیتپردازی خیلی خیلی خوب بود،برداشت من اینه که تو اکثر رمانهای پلیسی شخصیتهای زن بیشتر نقش دکور رو دارن اما اینجا علاوه بر شخصیتهای دکوری ماما گریسون رو داریم که رهبر یه گروه جنایتکاره،یا خود دوشیزه بلندیش.
دیدی که نویسنده به جنایت و جنایتکار و قربانی جنایت داشت درخور توجه بود،دقتی که به حالت روانی شخصیت ها به خصوص قربانی داشت عالی بود.مثلا یه جا هست که دوشیزه بلندیش وقتی فرصت فرار براش فراهم شده به کسی که این فرصت رو براش فراهم کرده میگه که میخواد تا آخرین لحظهی زندگیش پیش اون آدم ربایی که این چند ماه رو زندانیش کرده و باهاش گذرونده بمونه و یا وضعیتش بعد از آزادی و ....
ترجمهی کتاب هم از اون دست ترجمههای روون بود که مترجم خیلی جاها از اصطلاحات و معادلات کاملا فارسی استفاده کرده بدون اینکه مثل بعضی ترجمه ها که همین کار رو کردن آدم حس کنه تو متن داستان دست برده مترجم،یه جاهایی کیف میکردم از این ترجمه.مثلا از "جانا سخن از زبان ما میگویی"و اینجور عبارات استفاده کرده بدون اینکه تو ذوق بزنه و البته عبارت اصلی رو هم تو پاورقی آورده.
February 24, 2021
When it comes to gangster books, No Orchids is the dog's bollocks.
I read Orwell's review Raffles and Miss Blandish and I'm still not sure why he got his knickers in a twist over this book. Orwell is miffed that half a million Englishmen enjoyed this "brilliant piece of writing" about blood, cruelty, and sexual sadism. He frets that No Orchids' popularity is a symptom of worshiping power and successful cruelty that leads to tolerance of nationalism and totalitarianism.
I read Orwell's review Raffles and Miss Blandish and I'm still not sure why he got his knickers in a twist over this book. Orwell is miffed that half a million Englishmen enjoyed this "brilliant piece of writing" about blood, cruelty, and sexual sadism. He frets that No Orchids' popularity is a symptom of worshiping power and successful cruelty that leads to tolerance of nationalism and totalitarianism.
April 2, 2025
René Lodge Brabazon Raymond (1906-1985) was mostly known by his psuedonym, James Hadley Chase, although he also wrote under other names such as James Docherty, Raymond Marshall, R. Raymond, and Ambrose Grant. He published some 90 books over his lifetimes, including 89 novels, between 1939 and 1984 and very few of those novels were part of series. British by birth, he lived much of his adult life after becoming a famous author in France and Switzerland.
Supposedly, he wrote his first novel, No Orchids for Miss Blandish over six weekends and it became an overnight sensation, catapulting Chase from an unknown writer to being famous. His first few novels tried to capture American gangster culture as seen from afar.
“No Orchids” is an incredible tour-de-force of gangster capers gone wrong. The story begins with three low-level hoodlums, Riley, Bailey, and Old Sam, getting a rumor that old man Blandish, the local Kansas City millionaire’s daughter, Miss Blandish, the title character, would be wearing a diamond necklace to a shindig at the Golden Slipper. They figure they can somehow hold her up when she leaves, it’s not much of a plan for a caper, but somehow they pull it off, but with a slight hitch. They accidentally gun down her boyfriend and decide at the eleventh hour the necklace will be too hot to fence. The alternative they come up with is to hold the girl for ransom.
They figure her father will pay a cool million for her return, but before they even get to their hideout, they are spotted by the Grissom gang, patterned after the real life Ma Barker gang. That accident of a meetup would prove their undoing and the result being the girl they snatched is snatched out from under their noses.
It’s at this point in the story where chase twists it a bit. The Grissom gang is led by Ma, a large ugly mean woman, but she is running the gang only to keep her son, Slim Grissom busy. He’s the creepy one who used to torture animals for fun when he was a kid. Now he’s so dangerous that everyone in the gang is scared he’ll turn on them with his knife.
Ma worries that having the beautiful Miss Blandish in their hideaway will put the men at odds with one another, but she believes Slim isn’t interested in women, Judi in creepiness. She’s wrong. Slim sees Miss Blandish and decides he wants to keep her no matter what. So, after they collect the ransom, Doc drugs her every day. She becomes a dead zombie doing slim’s twisted perverse bidding without the will to resist. She is kept in a locked windowless room as Slim’s living dead plaything for months while the whole world thinks she’s dead.
Perhaps it’s Chase’s treatment of Miss Blandish and Slim that serves to elevate this gangster novel into something uniquely different. It wasn’t until decades later that a supposedly kidnapped Patty Hearst joined her kidnappers in robberies. And, the Stockholm Syndrome had yet to be coined when Chase wrote this novel.
The second half of the novel involves private investigator Dave Fenner and his secretary Paula, trump yo locate Miss Blandish’s “killers” and bring the, to justice. chase would go on to use Fenner in only one more novel, Doll’s Bad News ( which had a horrible original title). Fenner would certainly have made a great series character.
Supposedly, he wrote his first novel, No Orchids for Miss Blandish over six weekends and it became an overnight sensation, catapulting Chase from an unknown writer to being famous. His first few novels tried to capture American gangster culture as seen from afar.
“No Orchids” is an incredible tour-de-force of gangster capers gone wrong. The story begins with three low-level hoodlums, Riley, Bailey, and Old Sam, getting a rumor that old man Blandish, the local Kansas City millionaire’s daughter, Miss Blandish, the title character, would be wearing a diamond necklace to a shindig at the Golden Slipper. They figure they can somehow hold her up when she leaves, it’s not much of a plan for a caper, but somehow they pull it off, but with a slight hitch. They accidentally gun down her boyfriend and decide at the eleventh hour the necklace will be too hot to fence. The alternative they come up with is to hold the girl for ransom.
They figure her father will pay a cool million for her return, but before they even get to their hideout, they are spotted by the Grissom gang, patterned after the real life Ma Barker gang. That accident of a meetup would prove their undoing and the result being the girl they snatched is snatched out from under their noses.
It’s at this point in the story where chase twists it a bit. The Grissom gang is led by Ma, a large ugly mean woman, but she is running the gang only to keep her son, Slim Grissom busy. He’s the creepy one who used to torture animals for fun when he was a kid. Now he’s so dangerous that everyone in the gang is scared he’ll turn on them with his knife.
Ma worries that having the beautiful Miss Blandish in their hideaway will put the men at odds with one another, but she believes Slim isn’t interested in women, Judi in creepiness. She’s wrong. Slim sees Miss Blandish and decides he wants to keep her no matter what. So, after they collect the ransom, Doc drugs her every day. She becomes a dead zombie doing slim’s twisted perverse bidding without the will to resist. She is kept in a locked windowless room as Slim’s living dead plaything for months while the whole world thinks she’s dead.
Perhaps it’s Chase’s treatment of Miss Blandish and Slim that serves to elevate this gangster novel into something uniquely different. It wasn’t until decades later that a supposedly kidnapped Patty Hearst joined her kidnappers in robberies. And, the Stockholm Syndrome had yet to be coined when Chase wrote this novel.
The second half of the novel involves private investigator Dave Fenner and his secretary Paula, trump yo locate Miss Blandish’s “killers” and bring the, to justice. chase would go on to use Fenner in only one more novel, Doll’s Bad News ( which had a horrible original title). Fenner would certainly have made a great series character.
December 14, 2015
Dave Fenner has been hired to find Miss Blandish, kidnapped three months ago; the police have not found her despite the ransom being paid. The suspected kidnappers have disappeared, but the heiress is in the hands of Ma Grisson and her scary henchman Slim, who has wiped out their rivals and taken possession of the girl. The closer Fenner gets the more horrifying the situations appears; in No Orchids for Miss Blandish.
James Hadley Chase has a written a very raw book with No Orchids for Miss Blandish and you can see the obvious James M Cain influence though out this book. But you can’t really fault Chase for that, Cain was a master at noir and it feels like he has taken the genre to a whole new level. For a book written in 1938 I was surprised to see how violent and sexualised this novel is. But on reflection there was no real mention, Chase just hints very obviously and leaves the rest to the reader’s imagination.
From the very start this book hooks you in and takes you on a very dark journey. Written in three viewpoints you get an interesting perspective of what is going on. This was a gruesome depiction of gang life that puts a lot of the noir successors to shame; James Hadley Chase knows how to hit hard with his disturbing characters, fast pace and realistic violence.
Sure, this book may travel into the realms of predictable but this book moves so fast you don’t have time to stop and think about that. Dave Fenner has the makings of a good protagonist and I can’t wait to see where Chase takes him. There are actually two versions of No Orchids for Miss Blandish, the 1938 version which I was lucky to have read and the 1962 revision, because James Hadley Chase thought the world of 1939 too distant for a new generation of readers. When I get a chance I plan to read the revised edition; I’ve heard that it doesn’t really lose any of the raw and realism but it does have the odd mention of televisions.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2013/...
James Hadley Chase has a written a very raw book with No Orchids for Miss Blandish and you can see the obvious James M Cain influence though out this book. But you can’t really fault Chase for that, Cain was a master at noir and it feels like he has taken the genre to a whole new level. For a book written in 1938 I was surprised to see how violent and sexualised this novel is. But on reflection there was no real mention, Chase just hints very obviously and leaves the rest to the reader’s imagination.
From the very start this book hooks you in and takes you on a very dark journey. Written in three viewpoints you get an interesting perspective of what is going on. This was a gruesome depiction of gang life that puts a lot of the noir successors to shame; James Hadley Chase knows how to hit hard with his disturbing characters, fast pace and realistic violence.
Sure, this book may travel into the realms of predictable but this book moves so fast you don’t have time to stop and think about that. Dave Fenner has the makings of a good protagonist and I can’t wait to see where Chase takes him. There are actually two versions of No Orchids for Miss Blandish, the 1938 version which I was lucky to have read and the 1962 revision, because James Hadley Chase thought the world of 1939 too distant for a new generation of readers. When I get a chance I plan to read the revised edition; I’ve heard that it doesn’t really lose any of the raw and realism but it does have the odd mention of televisions.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2013/...
April 9, 2022
Αφέθηκα με την εντύπωση πως ο Τζέιμς Χάντλεϋ Τσέις (μεταξύ άλλων συγχρόνων του, δηλαδή, όπως του Γουίλιαμ Φώκνερ και του «Ιερού» του που, μετά την μεταξύ τους σύγκριση στο επίμετρο αυτής της έκδοσης, θέλω να ξαναδιαβάσω) την έβρισκε λιγάκι με την φαντασίωση βιασμών ωραίων γυναικών της υψηλής κοινωνίας —σαν την πολύ νέα, πολύ όμορφη, πολύ πλούσια και πολύ δύστυχη δις Μπλάντις—, και κατά κάποιον τρόπο ήθελε να διατυμπανίσει αυτή του την ονείρωξη χωρίς, ωστόσο, να έχει τα κότσια να το κάνει στα ίσια· εξ ου και η σύντομη, υπαινικτική διατύπωση των σκηνών του βιασμού, σε αντίθεση με τις υπόλοιπες τολμηρές pulp περιγραφές του βιβλίου. Κι αυτό το βρήκα κάπως υποκριτικό.
Με εξαίρεση αυτή την επίγευση υποκρισίας (που μπορεί στην πραγματικότητα να υπάρχει κάτι άλλο στην θέση της κι ενδεχομένως εγώ απλώς να την εξέλαβα και μετέφρασα λανθασμένα), το βιβλίο μου άρεσε πολύ. Τολμηρό, καλογραμμένο, ιδιαίτερο δεδομένου ότι Βρετανός συγγραφέας σκιαγραφεί την αμερικανική εγκληματικότητα και μάλιστα σε τόπους που δεν είχε δει από κοντά ποτέ ο ίδιος, γρήγορο και με πικρή κατακλείδα, μού έχει μείνει πολύ ζωντανά. Μετά την αναθεώρηση του 1961 και της οριστικοποίησης (και επισημοποίησης) της κατάληξης της δίδος Μπλάντις, θα αποκηρύξω κι εγώ το άσπλαχνο σίκουελ της ιστορίας και θα προσποιηθώ ότι ούτε έμαθα πως υπάρχει ούτε πως γράφτηκε ποτέ.
Με εξαίρεση αυτή την επίγευση υποκρισίας (που μπορεί στην πραγματικότητα να υπάρχει κάτι άλλο στην θέση της κι ενδεχομένως εγώ απλώς να την εξέλαβα και μετέφρασα λανθασμένα), το βιβλίο μου άρεσε πολύ. Τολμηρό, καλογραμμένο, ιδιαίτερο δεδομένου ότι Βρετανός συγγραφέας σκιαγραφεί την αμερικανική εγκληματικότητα και μάλιστα σε τόπους που δεν είχε δει από κοντά ποτέ ο ίδιος, γρήγορο και με πικρή κατακλείδα, μού έχει μείνει πολύ ζωντανά. Μετά την αναθεώρηση του 1961 και της οριστικοποίησης (και επισημοποίησης) της κατάληξης της δίδος Μπλάντις, θα αποκηρύξω κι εγώ το άσπλαχνο σίκουελ της ιστορίας και θα προσποιηθώ ότι ούτε έμαθα πως υπάρχει ούτε πως γράφτηκε ποτέ.
September 14, 2018
It was quick nice read. Purple entries in this fleshly chiller by the creator of Twelve Chinks and A Woman. This one includes the beneficiary of a few pearls and a fortune, who is the butt of a group war between two crowds and is seized - doped - assaulted because of Slim Grisson. Private dick Fanner discovers her, with a decent arrangement of discharge in the going. Nice shots all around ! 👌
February 20, 2013
[7/10]
A flawed masterpiece. The story itself deserves a five star: hard edged, uncompromising, ruthless and believable, with memorable characters, surprising twists, bullets and fists flying, car and rooftop chases. The writing though is uneven, mixing tough, tense, fast storytelling with generic settings and derivative (Hammett, Cain) prose. I feel like Chase is trying to imitate the masters of noir too much and isn's yet confident of his own voice. Understandable for a debut novel and a 'foreign' writer who used a slang dictionary to get local colour right, but from what I remember of his other books, these problems don't exactly dissapear in his later opus.
The first two chapters, introducing the Kansas City underworld and the heist to get Miss Blandish priceless diamond necklace, made me think I would really love the novel. Unfortunately, the introduction of detective Dave Fenner marks a change in tone to some rather cringeworthy wisecracks and sexual innuendo, out of sync with the incredible graphic violence and black mood in the previous pages. I would argue that Fenner is not really necessary for the story, who works much better when the focus is on Ma Grisson and her gang. Fortunately, once Fenner gets dragged deeper into the case, the jocularity and the bottom slapping are toned down and I got caught back in the real drama of Miss Blandish.
The gorgeous redhead is eclipsed for most of the novel by the terrifying presence of Ma Grisson, vicious leader and mastermind of the criminal operation. The young lady is relegated to a passive, tongue tied role of object of desire tossed from one grubby hand to another. .
The novel has an extremely high body count, an unrelenting presence of danger and death for all characters involved. Chase strongpoint here for me was in the introduction and description of minor characters, often appearing for only a couple of pages ( a cabaret owner, a dumb hat-check girl, a fashion reporter with shady connections, a getaway driver, and alcoholic mob doctor, a murderous psychopat, a bolt hole owner, etc). Kansas City portrayed here is a colourful place, but the pallette is limited to the crimson of blood and the black of unscrupulous minds bent only on profit.
Other than a couple of plot holes and misguided attempts of wit, my only major complaint with the book is the portrayal of women, an issue that will haunt the author for years to come. It really doesn't sit well with my modern sensibilities to see the girls abused so openly and thoughtlessly, to see them portrayed as harpies, or empty headed bimbos or to have them virtually stripped naked by every men character in the book. Ma Grisson is the exception, not the rule.
The novel though, deserves to be considered a classic of the gangster style, even a historical snapshot of the Public Enemy Wars between the FBI and the crime lords, who were themselves part fictional, glamourized accounts in the press and in official reports. I've read a little on wikipedia about Ma Barker and Bonnie Parker, famous tough ladies that probably inspired Chase, and about how their crimes may have been fabricated in order to justify their deaths.
A flawed masterpiece. The story itself deserves a five star: hard edged, uncompromising, ruthless and believable, with memorable characters, surprising twists, bullets and fists flying, car and rooftop chases. The writing though is uneven, mixing tough, tense, fast storytelling with generic settings and derivative (Hammett, Cain) prose. I feel like Chase is trying to imitate the masters of noir too much and isn's yet confident of his own voice. Understandable for a debut novel and a 'foreign' writer who used a slang dictionary to get local colour right, but from what I remember of his other books, these problems don't exactly dissapear in his later opus.
The first two chapters, introducing the Kansas City underworld and the heist to get Miss Blandish priceless diamond necklace, made me think I would really love the novel. Unfortunately, the introduction of detective Dave Fenner marks a change in tone to some rather cringeworthy wisecracks and sexual innuendo, out of sync with the incredible graphic violence and black mood in the previous pages. I would argue that Fenner is not really necessary for the story, who works much better when the focus is on Ma Grisson and her gang. Fortunately, once Fenner gets dragged deeper into the case, the jocularity and the bottom slapping are toned down and I got caught back in the real drama of Miss Blandish.
The gorgeous redhead is eclipsed for most of the novel by the terrifying presence of Ma Grisson, vicious leader and mastermind of the criminal operation. The young lady is relegated to a passive, tongue tied role of object of desire tossed from one grubby hand to another. .
The novel has an extremely high body count, an unrelenting presence of danger and death for all characters involved. Chase strongpoint here for me was in the introduction and description of minor characters, often appearing for only a couple of pages ( a cabaret owner, a dumb hat-check girl, a fashion reporter with shady connections, a getaway driver, and alcoholic mob doctor, a murderous psychopat, a bolt hole owner, etc). Kansas City portrayed here is a colourful place, but the pallette is limited to the crimson of blood and the black of unscrupulous minds bent only on profit.
Other than a couple of plot holes and misguided attempts of wit, my only major complaint with the book is the portrayal of women, an issue that will haunt the author for years to come. It really doesn't sit well with my modern sensibilities to see the girls abused so openly and thoughtlessly, to see them portrayed as harpies, or empty headed bimbos or to have them virtually stripped naked by every men character in the book. Ma Grisson is the exception, not the rule.
The novel though, deserves to be considered a classic of the gangster style, even a historical snapshot of the Public Enemy Wars between the FBI and the crime lords, who were themselves part fictional, glamourized accounts in the press and in official reports. I've read a little on wikipedia about Ma Barker and Bonnie Parker, famous tough ladies that probably inspired Chase, and about how their crimes may have been fabricated in order to justify their deaths.
December 10, 2016
NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH is a treasure trove of criminal stylings written in a timeless quality. The tale of kidnapping, jewel heist, murder, and gang rivalry is engrossing and utterly captivating. Not once did this oh so sweet slice of noir feel dated despite the initial publication being in 1939 – a testament to the authors ability.
Ma Grisson and her son Slim are the catalysts in turning a snatch and grab into mass murder and a show of force in taking complete control of the criminal underworld. Miss Blandish, a wealthy daughter and socialite-like young women with the world at her feet is the unfortunately collateral damage in a heist designed to bring in a million dollars to a group of thugs looking to hit the big time. Before long, Ma Grisson and her gang are privy to the snatch, take out the competitors and hold Miss Blandish captive for a king’s ransom.
There are some truly unique and well formulated characters in NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH, perhaps none more so than the larger than life and menacing Ma Grission. Everything from her physical description to utter contempt of human life oozes noir and shouts crime boss – a formidable figure indeed. While her son Slim, is equally degenerative in the humanity stakes, his infatuation and desire for someone to call his own – preferably an attractive wealthy woman portrays in him a scary and semi psychotic state. I could elaborate further on the distinguished cast as they all add something to the plot and are enjoyable and realistic in their respective occupation.
NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH is written in a manner to keep the perspective fresh. Each new chapter (act) sees the POV switch from heist, to kidnap, to police investigation, to private eye, to criminal element, to Miss Blandish herself. This was the perfect way to convey the dire situation Miss Blandish and her criminal counterparts found themselves.
Given the linear plot, engaging characters and quality of writing and you’ve got a sure fire classic by James Hadley Chase. I couldn’t get through NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDHISH fast enough – one of the best noirs ever written and a true classic of crime fiction – 5 stars.
This review also appears on my blog:
http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
Ma Grisson and her son Slim are the catalysts in turning a snatch and grab into mass murder and a show of force in taking complete control of the criminal underworld. Miss Blandish, a wealthy daughter and socialite-like young women with the world at her feet is the unfortunately collateral damage in a heist designed to bring in a million dollars to a group of thugs looking to hit the big time. Before long, Ma Grisson and her gang are privy to the snatch, take out the competitors and hold Miss Blandish captive for a king’s ransom.
There are some truly unique and well formulated characters in NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH, perhaps none more so than the larger than life and menacing Ma Grission. Everything from her physical description to utter contempt of human life oozes noir and shouts crime boss – a formidable figure indeed. While her son Slim, is equally degenerative in the humanity stakes, his infatuation and desire for someone to call his own – preferably an attractive wealthy woman portrays in him a scary and semi psychotic state. I could elaborate further on the distinguished cast as they all add something to the plot and are enjoyable and realistic in their respective occupation.
NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH is written in a manner to keep the perspective fresh. Each new chapter (act) sees the POV switch from heist, to kidnap, to police investigation, to private eye, to criminal element, to Miss Blandish herself. This was the perfect way to convey the dire situation Miss Blandish and her criminal counterparts found themselves.
Given the linear plot, engaging characters and quality of writing and you’ve got a sure fire classic by James Hadley Chase. I couldn’t get through NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDHISH fast enough – one of the best noirs ever written and a true classic of crime fiction – 5 stars.
This review also appears on my blog:
http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
April 3, 2013
This was not the audiobook that would be advisable to listen to as I drove the 250 mile round trip to visit my family yesterday......but guess what, it was the audiobook I listened to. Truly horrendous. Infested with cruel and callous murderers who rifle and stab and beat people to death with a passion. And I use that word advisedly. The main man, as far as the slaughter goes, is a horribly vicious psychpath called Slim Grissom whose description was so powerful, whose bestial joy in killing anyone who happened to catch him on an off moment, was so evident that i could not have stopped to give a lift to a stranger if my cat's life had depended upon it. Hadley Chase creates a monster and I know that is an overused term in literature but i think Grissom was so foul he qualifies murderous hands down.
The story is of the eponymous Miss Blandish, the wealthy socialite daughter of one of the richest men in Kansas. She, alongside her handsome but drunken boyfriend, are driven off the road by three z list hoodlums. In the ensuing ambush, her beau is murdered, the first of many brutal deaths, and she is kidnapped although the original intention had just been to steal her diamonds. The cack-handed ambushers crash from one misfortune to another and early on they lose the girl, the diamonds and any further involvement in the story if by further involvement is meant a pulse and the ability to breathe in and out. They are deaths two, three and four. Savage, bloody and scarily believable.
The rest of the story, the lionshare, if you like, is of the various people involved either in maintaining the young heiress' incarceration or in trying to find her and set her free. There are a large cast of characters none of which reflect well on humanity and indeed the two that do bring a small part of fellow feeling towards the poor girl( it can't be described as anything as positive as compassion or sympathy) are done to death fairly early on.
It is a page turner or would have been had I been turning pages. It was a CD switcher of the first order and i could not have not listened to the last CD when I got back home to Poole last night for all the Prosecco in Venice though the rather upmarket nature of Prosecco jars when being infected by the grime and violence and downright nastiness of this story.
Re-reading this I wonder that you might be thinking why in God's Name would anyone want to read this; well, it does make for a horribly uncomfortable 7 hours but it is an extraordinary experiment in almost writing by numbers. A british man sets his hand to create a story set in the gang-ridden streets of Kansas and writes dialogue and descriptions which sweep you along and yet I read somewhere that he had set open in front of him a book of US slang terms and the like. People who are more knowledgeable and well read in this genre might find it unimpressive or derivative but being a bit of a virgin in this sphere or at least one with limited experience I found it riveting.
Towards the end there is a moment when you feel it might just work out ok for Miss Blandish but always in the back of my mind was the bitter experience of the first series of 24 when I used to be shouting at the tv for the two women to stop f**king about and just escape.....they never heard or if they did, they didn't listen and faffed about until the baddies came in and their chance to escape was, yet again, wasted. Miss Blandish and her rampantly dubious kinight in shining armour have much the same effect.
One of the truly inspired but awful elements is the appalling decay and ruination of the poor girl's life. Her previous experiences were of admiration and adulation, adoration and ease; these come back with avengeance but corrupted, misshapen and demonic. Slim Grissom, who has never looked at a women with anything but contempt before, sees her beauty and that is that. You cannot say he falls in love, Chase does not really give us that opportunity in the horrible slimy tunnel of Slim's mind. For him to fall in love would involve the possibility of redemption but too often it has been made clear to us that he is beyond any scope of human salvage but something happens and it destroys her; not physically but hope, joy, anything good indeed, these things dwell far outside her reach after he and the other members of the gang, including the truly frightful Ma Grissom, beat and belittle and destroy her mind.
There is a deeply tragic lament she stammers towards the end in which she blames no-one but herself, as if her previous easy, unchallenged life was something she needed to answer for or to have drawn an inner strength from that she felt she failed to do. This simple but awful speech was one of the most heartbreaking things about this book.
The story is of the eponymous Miss Blandish, the wealthy socialite daughter of one of the richest men in Kansas. She, alongside her handsome but drunken boyfriend, are driven off the road by three z list hoodlums. In the ensuing ambush, her beau is murdered, the first of many brutal deaths, and she is kidnapped although the original intention had just been to steal her diamonds. The cack-handed ambushers crash from one misfortune to another and early on they lose the girl, the diamonds and any further involvement in the story if by further involvement is meant a pulse and the ability to breathe in and out. They are deaths two, three and four. Savage, bloody and scarily believable.
The rest of the story, the lionshare, if you like, is of the various people involved either in maintaining the young heiress' incarceration or in trying to find her and set her free. There are a large cast of characters none of which reflect well on humanity and indeed the two that do bring a small part of fellow feeling towards the poor girl( it can't be described as anything as positive as compassion or sympathy) are done to death fairly early on.
It is a page turner or would have been had I been turning pages. It was a CD switcher of the first order and i could not have not listened to the last CD when I got back home to Poole last night for all the Prosecco in Venice though the rather upmarket nature of Prosecco jars when being infected by the grime and violence and downright nastiness of this story.
Re-reading this I wonder that you might be thinking why in God's Name would anyone want to read this; well, it does make for a horribly uncomfortable 7 hours but it is an extraordinary experiment in almost writing by numbers. A british man sets his hand to create a story set in the gang-ridden streets of Kansas and writes dialogue and descriptions which sweep you along and yet I read somewhere that he had set open in front of him a book of US slang terms and the like. People who are more knowledgeable and well read in this genre might find it unimpressive or derivative but being a bit of a virgin in this sphere or at least one with limited experience I found it riveting.
Towards the end there is a moment when you feel it might just work out ok for Miss Blandish but always in the back of my mind was the bitter experience of the first series of 24 when I used to be shouting at the tv for the two women to stop f**king about and just escape.....they never heard or if they did, they didn't listen and faffed about until the baddies came in and their chance to escape was, yet again, wasted. Miss Blandish and her rampantly dubious kinight in shining armour have much the same effect.
One of the truly inspired but awful elements is the appalling decay and ruination of the poor girl's life. Her previous experiences were of admiration and adulation, adoration and ease; these come back with avengeance but corrupted, misshapen and demonic. Slim Grissom, who has never looked at a women with anything but contempt before, sees her beauty and that is that. You cannot say he falls in love, Chase does not really give us that opportunity in the horrible slimy tunnel of Slim's mind. For him to fall in love would involve the possibility of redemption but too often it has been made clear to us that he is beyond any scope of human salvage but something happens and it destroys her; not physically but hope, joy, anything good indeed, these things dwell far outside her reach after he and the other members of the gang, including the truly frightful Ma Grissom, beat and belittle and destroy her mind.
There is a deeply tragic lament she stammers towards the end in which she blames no-one but herself, as if her previous easy, unchallenged life was something she needed to answer for or to have drawn an inner strength from that she felt she failed to do. This simple but awful speech was one of the most heartbreaking things about this book.
October 12, 2017
Vaya sorpresa!!
Me he sentido envuelta en una película de gangsters de las buenas.
Que bien me lo he pasado.
Lo que hace la codicia humana. Lo mejor el final, impactante, no me lo esperaba.
Intentaré leer más cosas del autor
Muy bueno.
Me he sentido envuelta en una película de gangsters de las buenas.
Que bien me lo he pasado.
Lo que hace la codicia humana. Lo mejor el final, impactante, no me lo esperaba.
Intentaré leer más cosas del autor
Muy bueno.
February 17, 2021
El Secuestro De La Señorita Blandish.- James Hadley Chase
"Una mirada aletargada y una boca relajada y abierta le daban el aspecto de un ser débil, sin sangre ni energía, pero era en realidad lo más frío que pudiera encontrarse sobre dos piernas."
Un par de delincuentes de poca monta idean un plan para robar un collar valuado en u$d 50.000 que llevará puesto la señorita Blandish, hija de un magnate. El atraco se complica y la señorita Blandish termina secuestrada en manos de una banda de criminales violentos y salvajes liderada por Ma Grisson y su hijo psicópata Slim Grisson. Mientras, el padre de la señorita Blandish contrata a un periodista devenido en detective para encontrar a su hija.
El Secuestro De La Señorita Blandish es el primer libro escrito por James Hadley Chase (1906-1985) y se publicó en el año 1939, convirtiéndose instantáneamente en un éxito. La novela se adaptó dos veces a la pantalla grande, siendo la versión de 1971, llamada The Grissom Gang, dirigida por Robert Aldrich y con una gran actuación Scott Wilson (Hershel de The Walking Dead) como el depravado Slim, la que mantiene el tono oscuro del libro y por ende la más recomendable.
Para algunos, un robo a Faulkner, para otros, uno de los grandes hitos de la novela negra. Este primer libro del prolífico Chase está dentro de sus mejores obras y es uno de los libros más crudos escritos en esos primeros años de la novela negra, tan crudo que hoy día, 80 años después, nos sigue poniendo incómodos en ciertos pasajes de violencia y vejaciones hacia la pobre Blandish. Una historia en donde no se romantiza la delicuencia y en la cual casi todos los personajes (agentes de la ley incluidos) son sencillamente detestables.
🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
"Una mirada aletargada y una boca relajada y abierta le daban el aspecto de un ser débil, sin sangre ni energía, pero era en realidad lo más frío que pudiera encontrarse sobre dos piernas."
Un par de delincuentes de poca monta idean un plan para robar un collar valuado en u$d 50.000 que llevará puesto la señorita Blandish, hija de un magnate. El atraco se complica y la señorita Blandish termina secuestrada en manos de una banda de criminales violentos y salvajes liderada por Ma Grisson y su hijo psicópata Slim Grisson. Mientras, el padre de la señorita Blandish contrata a un periodista devenido en detective para encontrar a su hija.
El Secuestro De La Señorita Blandish es el primer libro escrito por James Hadley Chase (1906-1985) y se publicó en el año 1939, convirtiéndose instantáneamente en un éxito. La novela se adaptó dos veces a la pantalla grande, siendo la versión de 1971, llamada The Grissom Gang, dirigida por Robert Aldrich y con una gran actuación Scott Wilson (Hershel de The Walking Dead) como el depravado Slim, la que mantiene el tono oscuro del libro y por ende la más recomendable.
Para algunos, un robo a Faulkner, para otros, uno de los grandes hitos de la novela negra. Este primer libro del prolífico Chase está dentro de sus mejores obras y es uno de los libros más crudos escritos en esos primeros años de la novela negra, tan crudo que hoy día, 80 años después, nos sigue poniendo incómodos en ciertos pasajes de violencia y vejaciones hacia la pobre Blandish. Una historia en donde no se romantiza la delicuencia y en la cual casi todos los personajes (agentes de la ley incluidos) son sencillamente detestables.
🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
May 12, 2015
I've always skipped this novel since reading George Orwell's furious denunciation of it ("a header into the cesspool. . .It's pure Fascism. . ."). He found its sadism and amorality intolerable. But he also said, "It is not, as one might expect, the product of an illiterate hack, but a brilliant piece of writing, with hardly a wasted word or a jarring note anywhere." And he was right.
The book is storytelling stripped down to the essentials. Chase doesn't bother with complex characterizations or detailed descriptive passages. Events move with breathless speed: Chase has an interesting way of ruthlessly cutting back on bridge passages between the 'good bits', where most writers feels the need to slacken pace and lull the reader with incidental stuff prior to moving onto the next big scene. The effect should be one of disjointedness, but so fierce is the energy of the writing that one hardly notices the unorthodox pacing of the narrative. It's the ultimate page-turner.
As for the sadism, it seems almost tepid by comparison with modern mainstream television and fiction. I can see how it would have appeared shocking and revolutionary in 1938, however. Also, there is evidently a problem with most modern editions of the novel. There are quite a few ghastly details which Orwell singles out for his disgust which are missing from the two editions I checked. Judging from scattered references to television and police helicopters, I'm guessing Chase overhauled the novel sometime in the 1950s or 60s for reissue, at which time he trimmed some (but not all) of the most horrifying moments. It's possible he also massaged another aspect of the narrative which seems to have bothered a lot of people, in which kidnappee Blandish falls in love with her captor. This hardly seems an outrage nowadays, knowing what we do of Stockholm syndrome, but the editions I looked at keep Blandish pretty much an unwilling victim.
Be that as it may, even in bowdlerized form the novel remains a powerhouse. Some people compare it to Spillane, but there's no trace of the latter's self-pity and histrionics. Chase's book is cold, and is closer in style to Hammett and Paul Cain than to the post-war writers of hard-boiled fiction. So, mutter an inward apology to George and go ahead and read it.
The book is storytelling stripped down to the essentials. Chase doesn't bother with complex characterizations or detailed descriptive passages. Events move with breathless speed: Chase has an interesting way of ruthlessly cutting back on bridge passages between the 'good bits', where most writers feels the need to slacken pace and lull the reader with incidental stuff prior to moving onto the next big scene. The effect should be one of disjointedness, but so fierce is the energy of the writing that one hardly notices the unorthodox pacing of the narrative. It's the ultimate page-turner.
As for the sadism, it seems almost tepid by comparison with modern mainstream television and fiction. I can see how it would have appeared shocking and revolutionary in 1938, however. Also, there is evidently a problem with most modern editions of the novel. There are quite a few ghastly details which Orwell singles out for his disgust which are missing from the two editions I checked. Judging from scattered references to television and police helicopters, I'm guessing Chase overhauled the novel sometime in the 1950s or 60s for reissue, at which time he trimmed some (but not all) of the most horrifying moments. It's possible he also massaged another aspect of the narrative which seems to have bothered a lot of people, in which kidnappee Blandish falls in love with her captor. This hardly seems an outrage nowadays, knowing what we do of Stockholm syndrome, but the editions I looked at keep Blandish pretty much an unwilling victim.
Be that as it may, even in bowdlerized form the novel remains a powerhouse. Some people compare it to Spillane, but there's no trace of the latter's self-pity and histrionics. Chase's book is cold, and is closer in style to Hammett and Paul Cain than to the post-war writers of hard-boiled fiction. So, mutter an inward apology to George and go ahead and read it.
March 19, 2021
The beginning of the book was very grim and bleak. Rape is a subject I try to avoid in fiction and even though it is not described in details (the book was released in 1939), the dark fate of one of the characters is obvious.
That being said, the second half of the book is excellent and I really wanted to know where the story was going.
I’m not sure I understand why NOfMB is one of the 100 books of the Century according to the newspaper Le Monde but I’m glad I read it anyway.
That being said, the second half of the book is excellent and I really wanted to know where the story was going.
I’m not sure I understand why NOfMB is one of the 100 books of the Century according to the newspaper Le Monde but I’m glad I read it anyway.
January 29, 2015
A long time since I am planning to read the books by authors from The Golden Age of Detective Fiction, but till now I have succeeded in reading only two books so far, including this one. And this book was sleeping in my bookshelf for a long time when I finished reading “Kafka on the shore” coincidently this crossed my sight and then started reading.
After have lots of philosophical insights and phenomenological thoughts from “Kafka on the shore” this book really gave break…
No Orchids For Miss Blandish , a book written in 1930’s and debut by James Hadley Chase
No doubt on how he grew as king of thriller writers in Europe.
A gangster story in its primitive form.
After have lots of philosophical insights and phenomenological thoughts from “Kafka on the shore” this book really gave break…
No Orchids For Miss Blandish , a book written in 1930’s and debut by James Hadley Chase
No doubt on how he grew as king of thriller writers in Europe.
A gangster story in its primitive form.
June 10, 2023
I can't help it, it's 5 stars. The main point of a noir novel is to keep you entertained, keep you turning the pages, to steep you in the murky vile world of lowlives and gangsters, and this book managed that in heaps.
In 1961, it seems that Chase heavily rewrote this book, to make it more saleable to a more cynical and numbed audience, but I read the original 1938 edition, because I wanted that 30s feel that was quite soon shocking for the day.
Written in 6 weekends, Chase's plan was to outdo the notorious Postman Always Rings Twice, with more sexual threat, more violence, lower morals and more killings and he certainly did that. While the depiction of events are mild by modern standards, the events themselves aren't and sometimes things are better (and more disturbing) left unsaid - another reason I didn't want to read the 1961 edition.
The book opens with a trio of small-time crooks falling across a chance opportunity to steal a $50,000 necklace which turns into an unplanned kidnapping of a society beauty and murder of her boyfriend, which then quickly turns into events a hell of a lot worse.
The plot is fast and well executed, with each new character neatly and quickly sketched, and with the point of view switching with dizzying frequency. Chase tightens the screw skillfully and the whole is wrapped up satisfactorily in well under 200 pages.
In 1961, it seems that Chase heavily rewrote this book, to make it more saleable to a more cynical and numbed audience, but I read the original 1938 edition, because I wanted that 30s feel that was quite soon shocking for the day.
Written in 6 weekends, Chase's plan was to outdo the notorious Postman Always Rings Twice, with more sexual threat, more violence, lower morals and more killings and he certainly did that. While the depiction of events are mild by modern standards, the events themselves aren't and sometimes things are better (and more disturbing) left unsaid - another reason I didn't want to read the 1961 edition.
The book opens with a trio of small-time crooks falling across a chance opportunity to steal a $50,000 necklace which turns into an unplanned kidnapping of a society beauty and murder of her boyfriend, which then quickly turns into events a hell of a lot worse.
The plot is fast and well executed, with each new character neatly and quickly sketched, and with the point of view switching with dizzying frequency. Chase tightens the screw skillfully and the whole is wrapped up satisfactorily in well under 200 pages.
December 20, 2014
4.5 Stars
After reading the fierce first chapter, I was totally surprised to discover that this book was written in 1938! The novel is just as dark, violent, and explicit as anything written today, and I enjoyed every page of it! I can see why the book was such a hit and such a controversy at the same time when it was released. It wasn't until after I finished the first chapter of the kindle edition, that I realized that I was reading a revised version of the novel, "updated" by the author for more modern audiences in the mid-60's. After skimming through passages from the original text, I was shocked to find out that the language and some of the content was softened tremendously! When I read hard-boiled noir, I don't want it soft, I want it as hard as can be! So I paused my reading to track down the only edition that I could find with the original text, and that was this one:
Described as a "shocking tale of vile, ruthless, gangsterism," it tells the story of the kidnapping and ransoming of the beautiful, innocent, unnamed daughter of millionaire John Blandish. The girl ends up in the hands of the infamous old lady Ma Grissom, and her gang of thieves and killers, including her psychotic son and knife-man Slim Grissom. Months later, the girl has still not been found and her father hires private dick Dave Fenner to find out what happened to her. Her father partly hopes she is dead, because if she isn't, one can only imagine what the Grissom gang has been doing to poor Miss Blandish.
The novel is well-plotted, fast-paced and never boring, with raw and lurid details and vivid characters in the villainous gangsters. My jaw definitely dropped a few times at the horror of the story and the situation that Miss Blandish was in, being a rich girl that has always been protected by the terrors of the world, being suddenly thrust into something that might ruin her innocence completely. And that ending? Jeez...stuck in my head for days...
After reading the fierce first chapter, I was totally surprised to discover that this book was written in 1938! The novel is just as dark, violent, and explicit as anything written today, and I enjoyed every page of it! I can see why the book was such a hit and such a controversy at the same time when it was released. It wasn't until after I finished the first chapter of the kindle edition, that I realized that I was reading a revised version of the novel, "updated" by the author for more modern audiences in the mid-60's. After skimming through passages from the original text, I was shocked to find out that the language and some of the content was softened tremendously! When I read hard-boiled noir, I don't want it soft, I want it as hard as can be! So I paused my reading to track down the only edition that I could find with the original text, and that was this one:
Described as a "shocking tale of vile, ruthless, gangsterism," it tells the story of the kidnapping and ransoming of the beautiful, innocent, unnamed daughter of millionaire John Blandish. The girl ends up in the hands of the infamous old lady Ma Grissom, and her gang of thieves and killers, including her psychotic son and knife-man Slim Grissom. Months later, the girl has still not been found and her father hires private dick Dave Fenner to find out what happened to her. Her father partly hopes she is dead, because if she isn't, one can only imagine what the Grissom gang has been doing to poor Miss Blandish.
The novel is well-plotted, fast-paced and never boring, with raw and lurid details and vivid characters in the villainous gangsters. My jaw definitely dropped a few times at the horror of the story and the situation that Miss Blandish was in, being a rich girl that has always been protected by the terrors of the world, being suddenly thrust into something that might ruin her innocence completely. And that ending? Jeez...stuck in my head for days...
December 2, 2012
This is a dark book. Full of violence this book is as grim as they come. Not as explicit as other writers I think it's actually made worse by the fact that everything is hinted at, kept just off-screen, so your mind has to fill in the horrible blanks.
I started this book late last night and as soon as I picked it up this morning I had to keep reading til it was over. Told in 3 parts the book switches between viewpoints as the story progresses. I wasn't expecting the book to suddenly go the angle it went. A quick, thrilling read. Though the ending was a bit predictable it's still worth reading.
I started this book late last night and as soon as I picked it up this morning I had to keep reading til it was over. Told in 3 parts the book switches between viewpoints as the story progresses. I wasn't expecting the book to suddenly go the angle it went. A quick, thrilling read. Though the ending was a bit predictable it's still worth reading.
May 26, 2013
pietra miliare della letteratura di genere, ambientato a kansas city. una banda spietata, il rapimento di una bellissima ereditiera, uno psicopatico- senza redenzione e speranza. molto cupo, ben costruito nella sua semplicità.
December 17, 2019
Other reviewers recommend the uncleansed 1939 edition - this is the one available as an audiobook on Youtube.
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