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The Maltese Falcon
by Hammett, Dashiell
- Used
- near fine
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine
- Seller
-
Pasadena, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930. First edition. Near Fine. A solid Nearly Fine copy of Hammett's masterpiece, lacking the original dust jacket. Spine just minutely toned, otherwise very bright and fresh.
Hammett's classic hard-boiled detective tale, which would go on to influence countless others in the genre. The story features the first appearance of Sam Spade - a character Hammett referred to as a man with "no original" - and was initially serialized in the classic pulp magazine Black Mask before it was published in book form. Hammett was inspired by his own work as a detective, which is thought to have contributed to Hammett's lauded realism. Famed mystery author, Raymond Chandler, said of the work: "If you can show me 20 books written approximately 20 years back that have as much guts and life now, I'll eat them between slices of Edmund Wilson's head."
The Maltese Falcon also inspired numerous films, including the 1941 noir classic of the same name, (which Variety called "one of the best examples of actionful and suspenseful melodramatic story telling in cinematic form") written and directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet. The film would be nominated for three Academy Awards - including Best Picture - and was chosen for preservation by the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. The novel appears on Modern Library's list of the 100 best English Language Novels of the 20th century. Near Fine.
Hammett's classic hard-boiled detective tale, which would go on to influence countless others in the genre. The story features the first appearance of Sam Spade - a character Hammett referred to as a man with "no original" - and was initially serialized in the classic pulp magazine Black Mask before it was published in book form. Hammett was inspired by his own work as a detective, which is thought to have contributed to Hammett's lauded realism. Famed mystery author, Raymond Chandler, said of the work: "If you can show me 20 books written approximately 20 years back that have as much guts and life now, I'll eat them between slices of Edmund Wilson's head."
The Maltese Falcon also inspired numerous films, including the 1941 noir classic of the same name, (which Variety called "one of the best examples of actionful and suspenseful melodramatic story telling in cinematic form") written and directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet. The film would be nominated for three Academy Awards - including Best Picture - and was chosen for preservation by the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. The novel appears on Modern Library's list of the 100 best English Language Novels of the 20th century. Near Fine.
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. -
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Details
- Bookseller
- Whitmore Rare Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 5258
- Title
- The Maltese Falcon
- Author
- Hammett, Dashiell
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Publisher
- Alfred A. Knopf
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1930
Terms of Sale
Whitmore Rare Books
15 day return guarantee, with full refund if an item arrives damaged or not matching the description.
About the Seller
Whitmore Rare Books
Biblio member since 2009
Pasadena, California
About Whitmore Rare Books
We operate a retail shop in "Old Town" Pasadena open normal business hours Tuesday through Saturday.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- 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...
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