Description
ONE OF THE GREAT DETECTIVE NOVELS • Raymond Chandler’s groundbreaking debut that introduced Philip Marlowe, one of literature’s most iconic detectives.
Private investigator Philip Marlowe is called to the Sternwood mansion by a wealthy general desperate to protect his daughters from scandal. What begins as a simple case quickly spirals into blackmail, corruption, and murder. As Marlowe follows the trail through Los Angeles’s smoky bars, shadowy streets, and glittering mansions, he confronts not only gangsters and femme fatales but the moral decay at the heart of power and privilege.
First published in 1939, Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep redefined crime fiction. With its clipped dialogue, vivid atmosphere, and relentless pace, it established the hard-boiled detective novel as a serious literary form. Marlowe’s voice—tough, cynical, but bound by an unshakable code—became the model for generations of detectives in fiction and film. “I don’t mind if you don’t like my manners. They’re pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings,” Marlowe remarks, a line that captures both his wit and his weary integrity.
This Feel Classics edition brings Chandler’s masterpiece to today’s readers. With a thoughtful introduction, explanatory notes, glossary, and a detailed chronology of the author’s life and work, it is ideal for students, first-time readers, and lovers of noir alike.
A sharp, unforgettable classic that still speaks to anyone drawn to the shadows of loyalty, greed, and the price of truth.
