Books

First Impression. Octavo (18.25cm); publisher's original grayish-green wrappers, with titles printed in black on the front cover; [10], 11-301, [3]pp. Foxing to the text, wrappers toned, worn, and foxed, with paper loss to the upper 1.25" and lower 2" of the spine. The wrappers are still attached, though the glue holding them to the signatures is dry, and they are starting to pull away internally; the text is complete; a Good copy. Chandler's first and best-known novel, and the debut of Philip Marlowe perhaps the most imitated character within the mystery genre. "On one level, this is a complex murder mystery with its fair share of clues and corpses. On another level, it is a serious novel concerned (as is much of Chandler's work) with the corrupting influences of money and power. Marlowe is hired by General Sternwood, an old, paralyzed ex-soldier who made a fortune in oil, to find out why a rare-book dealer named Arthur Gwynn Geiger is holding an IOU signed by Sternwood's youngest daughter, the wild and immoral Carmen, and where a blackmailing gambler named Joe Brody fits into the picture" (Pronzini & Muller, p. 122). The American edition of The Big Sleep precedes the UK edition by a month, though the UK edition has always been many times scarcer in commerce. Knopf released a small compliment of proof copies in thick yellow-green wrappers, which have always appeared (if sparsely) in the trade. The UK proof is of much cheaper construction, not previously seen by us, nor mentioned by Bruccoli, and among the ca.30 copies of this edition held in OCLC institutions, we find no separate listing for a proof. Bruccoli A1.2.a.

The Big Sleep is a hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler, the first in his acclaimed series about detective Philip Marlowe. The story is set in Los Angeles and follows Marlowe as he investigates a complex case involving blackmail, mystery, and murder, which begins with a wealthy general who is being blackmailed and needs Marlowe's help.