> Re Duane's question below:
>
>> "I wondered whether Hammett ever wrote any
non-fiction, particularly
>> about actual crimes -- perhaps info on some of
the cases he
>> investigated as a Pinkerton."
>
> Hammett wrote one article, something along the lines
of "Memoirs of a
> Private Detective" for, I believe, *Saturday Review*.
It was
> reprinted in *The Art of the Mystery Story* edited by
Howard Haycraft
> in the mid-40s.
Find it at <http://www.ejmd.mcmail.com/secret.htm>
None of the cases Hammett would've written up as an operative
are known
to be extant.
One of the Hammett biogs (probably Layman's _Shadow Man_)
discusses
this.
> One of his Continental Op stories, "Who Killed
Bob
> Teal?" was rejected by *Black Mask*, so he added a
paragraph at the
> beginning asserting that the story was true, with
names and locales
> changed, and re-submitted it to *True Detective*
where it a appeared
> as a truce crime article. How much it was based on an
actual case is
> anyone's guess.
A search of the Baltimore newspaper archives for the period
1917-1920
might throw up a lead on this.
> The plot involved the Op trying to solve the
murder
> of his partner in circumstances virtually identical
to those
> surrounding the murder of Miles Archer in *The
Maltese Falcon*.
Except Spade does not find/look for the conclusive mud on
Brigid's shoe.
She would've had time to clean 'em up though before skipping
to Coronet.
ED
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