<< the fact that
Hammett wrote in a style that came naturally to
him
and Chandler had to develop his style (even going
so
far as to compile a glossary of American slang
terms
so he could use them in his work) >> It's not
easy to write naturally. In the development of a naturalistic
American prose style Hammett anticipated and in my view
surpassed Hemingway (who took it too far and made it,
paradoxically, artificial). The care that Hammett took in
perfecting this so-called natural style can be seen in his
extensive stylistic revisions to the original version of Red
Harvest, mentioned on this list just recently. While
Chandler's more ornamental (some call it baroque) style is
charming, it's a smaller achievement and one which led to
self-parody in his own work and cliche in those that imitated
him. And, of course, Hammett didn't need to make glossaries
of slang terms, he knew them first-hand. Hammett's influence
may be less visible because it's more pervasive, extending
far beyond detective fiction.
As far as the private detective convention goes: The Maltese
Falcon was published in 1930. Chandler started publishing in
1933. Does anyone know whether anyone preceded Hammett in
this?
Alan H
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