Selected Letters: 1921-1960

by Dashiell Hammett, Richard Layman, Josephine Hammett Marshall

"Here is a volume that generations of readers have longed for - the first-ever selection from the letters of Dashiell Hammett, the onetime private detective who, in five astonishing books written between 1927 and 1933, invented the modern American crime novel. Hammett was not only the founding member of the hardboiled school, he also was its greatest practitioner, and even after Chandler and all the rest, his body of work remains the solid-gold standard. The best of his work is literature - without the quotation marks."--BOOK JACKET.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography

672 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

Also wrote as Peter Collinson, Daghull Hammett, Samuel Dashiell, Mary Jane Hammett

Dashiell Hammett, an American, wrote highly acclaimed detective fiction, including The Maltese Falcon (1930) and The Thin Man (1934).

Samuel Dashiell Hammett authored hardboiled novels and short stories. He created Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse) among the enduring characters. In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on film, Hammett "is now widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time" and was called, in his obituary in the New York Times, "the dean of the... 'hard-boiled' school of detective fiction."

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashiell...

Reviews

[Bruce Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as much stuff on writing and reading as I'd hoped. Much more on parenting and expressing care and concern for loved ones than I expected. His time in Alaska was especially well covered. Almost nothing on his incarceration, and like his life, everything seemed to fade away once he got released from the slammer.

[JerryDeanHalleck · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an excellent selection of Dashiell Hammett's Letters from 1920 to his death in 1961. The letters give the best insight I've read into his life from 1930-1951, with a large selection from his letters to Lillian Hellman and his daughters during his WW II. The editors include some detailed - if overly positive - biographical notes explaining Hammett whereabouts and motivations. Several things stick out:

First, Hammett gives his Marxist views on current events to his daughter during the late 1930's and early 1940's but otherwise he's fairly cagey about his Communist Party membership and activities. Obviously, he thought the FBI might be reading his mail.

Second, the letters give a clue to why Hammett joined the Army at 48. It might not have been just a desire to "Fight Fascism" - Hammett seems have believed - wrongly - that as a Soldier he didn't have to pay income taxes on his book and radio royalties. Given he was in the 90% tax bracket that was quite a savings. After the war, the IRS presented him a bill for $100,000. Whoops.

Third, he didn't have a nervous breakdown in December 1936, he was hospitalized for VD, and it took him all the way to August 1937, before he was cured. One can see why he hid that fact.

Lastly, Hellman and Hammett were separated for long stretches during the 1935-1951 time-frame. they weren't as close as I was lead to believe.

A must for anyone interested in Hammett's life.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can see why Lillian loved him.

[Susan Wingate]

Just beginning!