One prefers, of course, on all occasions to be stainless and above reproach, but, failing that, the next best thing is unquestionably to have got rid of the body.
P.G. Wodehouse (Joy in the Morning)
Raymond Chandler was born on this day, 23 July 1888.
Chandler wrote ‘hard-boiled’ detective fiction, including classics like The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. His fictional detective Philip Marlowe was famously played on screen by Humphrey Bogart.
P.G. Wodehouse and Raymond Chandler were both educated at Dulwich College in London’s South, which today has libraries named after both authors.
David Cannadine explored the connection between them this Point of View article (via BBC News): ‘Where Jeeves meets a hard-boiled detective‘.
The anniversary of Chandler’s birth seemed a fitting occasion to share it with you.
Enjoy!
HP
“You are evidently fond of mystery plays.”
“I love them.”
“So do I. And mystery novels?”
“Oh, yes!”
“Have you read Blood on the Banisters?”
“Oh, yes! I thought it was much better than Severed Throats.”
“So did I,” said Cyril. “Much better. Brighter murders, subtler detectives, crisper clues … better in every way.”
The two twin souls gazed into each other’s eyes. There is no surer foundation for a beautiful friendship than a mutual taste in literature.
P.G. Wodehouse (Strychnine in the Soup, Mulliner Nights)
Plumtopia 
Delighted to read this piece – spooky, as H Plum has commented on my parallel piece (https://robertpimm.com/2018/07/21/hard-boiled-chandler-spillane-and-hammett/) that we wrote on the same subject the same weekend. Dulwich College should get some kind of award for producing both Raymond Chandler and P.G. Wodehouse, although I have not discovered whether they were anywhere near contemporary.
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Spooky indeed, Robert, old bean! Wodehouse was 7 years older. I’m not sure if they ever met.
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I raced to my Ratcliffe and McCrum to see how things stood between Plum and Chandler. Turns out that they had a connection through Plum’s old school chum, Bill Townend, who kept up a correspondence with Chandler and, according to McCrum, Townend occasionally quoted one to the other. This led me to Performing Flea — five references. Plum liked Chandler’s work, which I suppose everyone remembers except me. Farewell, my lovelies.
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Thanks Noel.
I am very grateful — not having my trusty McCrum etc. to hand, I couldn’t be sure. I am not surprised to hear Plum was a fan.
I started on Hammet’s pot boilers a few years ago, but was so disappointed that I didn’t explore any further into the genre (although I love the film adaptations).
Must get around to reading Chandler one of these days.
Pip pip, old chum!
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Perhaps, this explains why Ashe Marson was made to dish out detective stories!
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Yes — a few crop up over the years. Another memorable example is the writer in Honeysuckle Cottage.
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Yes!
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My suggestion is to read Chandler’s “English Summer”: there’s a lot of Old England Blandings-esque (dark) atmosphere there.
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Thanka George. I picked up two of his books yesterday. Will look out for this one as well.
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