Bill Denton's post listing the contents of the original
edition of THE SIMPLE ART OF MURDER (Houghton Mifflin,
1950)
prompted me to dig around on the shelves. People looking
for
these stories in used book shops should be aware that in
the
early Seventies Ballantine published the stories in
three
separate paperback collections as follows.
THE SIMPLE ART OF MURDER - published February 1972 (and
reprinted February 1977):
* "The Simple Art of Murder"
* "Spanish Blood"
* "I'll Be Waiting"
* "The King in Yellow"
* "Pearls Are a Nuisance"
TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS - published February 1972
(reprinted
March 1977):
* "Trouble Is My Business"
* "Finger Man"
* "Goldfish"
* "Red Wind"
PICKUP ON NOON STREET - published June 1972 (reprinted
June
1973):
* "Pick-Up on Noon Street"
* "Smart-Aleck Kill"
* "Guns at Cyrano's"
* "Nevada Gas"
At the same time Ballantine published KILLER IN THE RAIN
-
July 1971 (reprinted June 1977):
* "Killer in the Rain"
* "The Man Who Liked Dogs"
* "The Curtain"
* "Try the Girl"
* "Mandarian's Jade"
* "Bay City Blues"
* "The Lady in the Lake"
* "No Crime in the Mountains"
These four paperbacks include 20 of the 21 short
stories
published during Chandler's lifetime (his first,
"Blackmailers Don't Shoot" is the missing story). Two
additional stories, "Chandler Takes on the Syndicate" and
"A
Couple of Writers" were published posthumously (I
haven't
ever seen or read these two, and I would certainly like
to!).
Though excellent, the Library of America two-volume set
includes only the thirteen stories ("Blackmailers Don't
Shoot" is one of them) Chandler didn't later
incorporate
into one of his novels.
Thus it does NOT contain:
"Killer in the Rain", "The Curtain" (used in THE BIG
SLEEP)
"The Man Who Liked Dogs", "Try the Girl", "Mandarian's
Jade"
(used in FAREWELL, MY LOVELY)
"Bay City Blues", "Lady in the Lake", "No Crime in the
Mountains" (used in LADY IN THE LAKE)
I've seen all of these paperbacks (one time or another)
her
in used book shops, and suggest getting them if you
find
them. Reading the short stories and then the novel they
are
folded into provides some interesting insights into
Chandler's writing process, and the adjustments he made
to
fit multiple stories into a single plot aren't as great
as
you might expect. If you're afraid the stories might be
a
"spoiler" for the novel (they weren't for me), go back
and
read the stories afterward, it's still an interesting
exercise.
~ Rick
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