Books

First Printing. Octavo (19.5cm); jade green cloth, with titling and decorative elements stamped in burgundy and dark green on spine and front cover; dark brown topstain; dustjacket; [viii],282,[2]pp. Base of spine gently nudged, with a hint of sunning to upper board edges, and light wear to lower corners and lower edge of front board, resulting in some minute board exposure; contents fresh, with the cloth bright, lacking the usual soiling and discoloration; Near Fine. In the correct first printing dustjacket; spine gently sunned, light wear to joints and extremities, with a few tiny tears and nicks to crown and corners, and shallow loss to base of spine, not affecting lettering or design; an unrestored, Very Good+ example. Attractive copy of Hammett's fourth novel. "Like Personville in Red Harvest, the city is controlled by crooked politicians in league with various mobster factions; but in The Glass Key Hammett gives us an insider's view of the corruption and in fact creates a corrupt political henchman as his protagonist" (Pronzini & Muller, p.335). Widely regarded as one of Hammett's finest works, The Glass Key was serialized in the pages of Black Mask between March-June, 1930; Hammett would later settle down and revise the novel for Knopf, who published it first in London in January, 1931, and then in New York in April, 1931. Filmed twice, most notably Stuart Heisler's 1942 film noir starring Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, and Alan Ladd. A Haycraft-Queen cornerstone title. Layman A4.2.a.

The Glass Key is a novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in 1931. This work is a classic of the hard-boiled detective fiction genre and is noted for its gritty portrayal of corruption and political influence.