Arson Plus (Fantasy and Horror Classics) by Dashiell Hammett

Arson Plus (Fantasy and Horror Classics) by Dashiell Hammett

Dashiell Hammett is the undisputed master of hardboiled detective fiction, and one of the greatest mystery writers of all time. Originally published in the October 1923 issue of Black Mask, 'Arson Plus' was one of his earliest published tales, and a defining early example of the genre he would go on to make his own. Many of the hardboiled and pulp detective stories, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Dashiell Samuel Hammett was born in St. Mary's County, Maryland. He grew up in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Hammett left school at the age of fourteen and held several kinds of jobs thereafter--messenger boy, newsboy, clerk, operator, and stevedore, finally becoming an operative for Pinkerton's Detective Agency. Sleuthing suited young Hammett, but World War I intervened, interrupting his work and injuring his health. When Sergeant Hammett was discharged from the last of several hospitals, he resumed detective work. He soon turned to writing, and in the late 1920s Hammett became the unquestioned master of detective-story fiction in America. In The Maltese Falcon (1930) he first introduced his famous private eye, Sam Spade. The Thin Man (1932) offered another immortal sleuth, Nick Charles. Red Harvest (1929), The Dain Curse (1929), and The Glass Key (1931) are among his most successful novels. During World War II, Hammett again served as sergeant in the Army, this time for more than two years, most of which he spent in the Aleutians. Hammett's later life was marked in part by ill health, alcoholism, a period of imprisonment related to his alleged membership in the Communist Party, and by his long-time companion, the author Lillian Hellman, with whom he had a very volatile relationship. His attempt at autobiographical fiction survives in the story Tulip, which is contained in the posthumous collection The Big Knockover (1966, edited by Lillian Hellman). Another volume of his stories, The Continental Op (1974, edited by Stephen Marcus), introduced the final Hammett character: the Op, a nameless detective (or operative) who displays little of his personality, making him a classic tough guy in the hard-boiled mold--a bit like Hammett himself.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781447403975
ISBN 10	1447403975
Title	Arson Plus (Fantasy and Horror Classics)
Author	Dashiell Hammett
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Read Books
Year published	2011-04-28
Number of pages	32
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.