Raymond Chandler – 20th-century American novelist, author of The Big Sleep and Farewell, My Lovely, classic of noir and creator of private detective Philip Marlowe. His ironic, poetic style shaped crime fiction. He also worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter, earning an Academy Award nomination.
🕵️♂️ Chandler began writing at 44 after being fired from an oil company. 📖 He reinvented detective fiction, making it more literary and psychological. 🍸 Known for heavy drinking, reflected in his characters. 🎬 Worked in Hollywood, co-writing Double Indemnity. 📚 His letters to publishers are now considered classics. ✨ Influenced authors from Ross Macdonald to modern noir writers. 💔 His marriage to Cissy was tumultuous, and he grieved her death deeply. 🏙 His vision of Los Angeles defined the “noir city” archetype. 🖋 Critics compared his terse, metaphor-rich prose to Hemingway’s. 😂 Fun fact: he claimed he could only write “with whiskey and a cat nearby” – though he never owned a cat.