Herewith forwarded an example of Hammett as literary critic. David Skene-Melvin
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- To: "INTERNET:gaslight@MtRoyal.AB.CA" <gaslight@MtRoyal.AB.CA>
- Subject: Re: W. T. Stead [10839] & Shiel [10847] [10851]
- From: "p.h.wood" <woodph@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca>
- Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 14:31:10 -0700 (MST)
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- Comments: Gaslight Literary Discussion List
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I read several of M.P. Shiel's works when I was in my '20's; I can recall "The Purple Cloud" and what must have been the 1901 version of "The Lord of the Sea", and enjoyed them immensely. I would whole-heartedly endorse Dashiell Hammett's 'Continental Op' in his one-paragraph review of the latter book (see "The Gutting of Couffignal"). "The book was called 'The Lord of the Sea', and had to do with a strong, tough and violent fellow named Hogarth, whose modest plan it was to hold the world in one hand. There were plots and counter-plots, kidnapings, murders, prisonbreakings, forgeries and burglaries, diamonds as large as hats, and floating forts larger than (the island of) Couffignal. It sounds dizzy here, but in the book it was as real as a dime." Peter Wood
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