The Maltese Falcon.
by Hammett, Dashiell. (Story) Willard, Rodlow. (Illustrator)
- Used
- first
- Condition
- Very Good+ with no dust jacket
- Seller
-
Santa Monica, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
The Maltese Falcon , author Dashiell Hammett’s third novel, set the standard by which all subsequent detective fiction would be judged. Set in San Francisco in the late 1920s, the novel introduces us to private detective Sam Spade, who characterizes the archetype of the hard-boiled detective in his dead-pan pursuit of the recovery of a black figurine. Having worked for a time for the Pinkerton Detective Agency in San Francisco, Hammett reportedly drew upon his years as a detective in creating Spade and many of the other characters for The Maltese Falcon . The Maltese Falcon was originally serialized in HL Mencken’s “pulp” magazine, Black Mask, beginning with the September 1929 issue. For publication of the book form, editor Blanche Knopf tried to tone down the overt sexuality of the magazine version, fearing the references would alienate readers, but Hammett prevailed. However, the 1941 film adaptation starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor (the best known of the novel’s three film versions) excised the homosexual subtext of the novel due to Production Code restraints. Today, the movie is considered a film noir classic and the novel is ranked 56th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century as well as 54th on The Guardian’s list of the 100 best novels. -
Read More: Identifying first editions of The Maltese Falcon.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Waverley Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 3117129
- Title
- The Maltese Falcon.
- Author
- Hammett, Dashiell. (Story) Willard, Rodlow. (Illustrator)
- Format/Binding
- Stapled Wrappers
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good+ with no dust jacket
- Edition
- First Edition; First Printing
- Publisher
- David McKay
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1946
Terms of Sale
Waverley Books
About the Seller
Waverley Books
About Waverley Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Wrappers
- The paper covering on the outside of a paperback. Also see the entry for pictorial wraps, color illustrated coverings for...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Good+
- A term used to denote a condition a slight grade better than Good.
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...