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Dashiell Hammett

Dashiell Hammett
Born Samuel Dashiell Hammett
May 27, 1894(1894-05-27)
Saint Mary's County, Maryland
Died January 10, 1961 (aged 66)
New York City, New York
Occupation Novelist
Nationality Flag of the United States United States
Writing period 1929-1951
Genres Hardboiled crime fiction,
detective fiction
Influenced

Samuel Dashiell Hammett (May 27, 1894—January 10, 1961) was an American author of hardboiled detective novels and short stories. Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Saint Mary's County (often abbreviated as St Mary's County) is a County located in the U Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Nationality is a relationship between a Person and their State of Origin, Culture, association Affiliation and/or Loyalty The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction Hardboiled Crime fiction is a literary style pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the Crime fiction is the Genre of Fiction that deals with Crimes their detection criminals and their motives It is usually distinguished from Detective fiction is a branch of Crime fiction in which a Detective (or detectives either professional or amateur investigate a crime usually Murder Raymond Thornton Chandler ( July 23, 1888 &ndash March 26, 1959) was an American Author of crime stories and novels Chester Bomar Himes ( July 29, 1909 – November 12, 1984) was a famous African American Writer. Frank Morrison Spillane ( March 9 1918 – July 17 2006) better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American author of Ross Macdonald is the Pseudonym of the American - Canadian Writer of Crime fiction Kenneth Millar ( December 13 John Dann MacDonald ( July 24, 1916 &ndash December 28, 1986) was an American Author. Robert B Parker (born September 17 1932 Biography Parker was born in Springfield Massachusetts. Sara Paretsky (b June 8, 1947 in Ames Iowa) is a contemporary American Author of Detective fiction. James Ellroy (born Lee Earle Ellroy on March 4, 1948 in Los Angeles California) is an American Writer. Sue Taylor Grafton (born April 24 1940 is a contemporary American Author of Detective novels Biography Early years Born in Walter Ellis Mosley (born January 12, 1952) is a prominent American novelist most widely recognized for his Crime fiction. William Ford Gibson (born March 17 1948 is an American - Canadian writer who has been called the "noir prophet" of the Cyberpunk subgenre Rian Craig Johnson (born 1973 in Maryland) is an American writer and director who won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival Richard K Morgan (born 1965 is a British Science fiction author Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Hardboiled Crime fiction is a literary style pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the Detective fiction is a branch of Crime fiction in which a Detective (or detectives either professional or amateur investigate a crime usually Murder Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse). Sam Spade is a Fictional character who is the Protagonist of Dashiell Hammett 's novel The Maltese Falcon The Maltese Falcon is a 1930 Detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally serialized in the magazine " Black Mask " Nick and Nora Charles, or Mr and Mrs Nicholas Charles (which was changed from his father's original Greek name "Charalambides" are the characters created by The Thin Man (1934 is a Hardboiled detective novel by Dashiell Hammett. The Continental Op is a Fictional character created by Dashiell Hammett. This article deals with the Dashiell Hammett novel called Red Harvest The Dain Curse is a novel written by Dashiell Hammett and published in 1929. In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on film, Hammett "is now widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time"[1] and was called, in his obituary in the New York Times, "the dean of the. . . 'hard-boiled' school of detective fiction". [2]

Contents

Early life

Hammett was born on a farm called "Hopewell and Aim" off Great Mills Road, St. Mary's County, in southern Maryland. Saint Mary's County (often abbreviated as St Mary's County) is a County located in the U Southern Maryland in popular usage is composed of the state's southernmost counties on the "Western Shore" of the Chesapeake Bay. [3] His parents were Richard Thomas Hammett and Annie Bond Dashiell. (The Dashiells are an old Maryland family, the name being an Americanization of the French De Chiel; it is pronounced "da-SHEEL", not "DASH-el". ) He grew up in Philadelphia and Baltimore. "Sam", as he was known before he began writing, left school when he was 13 years old and held several jobs before working for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. "We Never Sleep" the famous motto of the Pinkerton Agency redirects here He served as an operative for the Pinkerton Agency from 1915 to 1921, with time off to serve in World War I. However, the agency's role in union strike-breaking eventually disillusioned him. Strike action, often simply called a strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal by Employees to perform work. [4]

During World War I, Hammett enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Motor Ambulance Corps. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. However, he became ill with the Spanish flu and later contracted tuberculosis. The 1918 flu pandemic (commonly referred to as the Spanish flu) was an Influenza Pandemic that spread to nearly every part of the world Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or T u' b' erculosis Bacillus --> is a common He spent the war as a patient at Cushman Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. While hospitalized he met and married a nurse, Josephine Dolan, and had two daughters, Mary Jane (1921) and Josephine (1926). Shortly after the birth of their second child, Health Services nurses informed Josephine that due to Hammett's tuberculosis, she and the children should not live with him. So they rented a place in San Francisco. Hammett would visit on weekends, but the marriage soon fell apart. Hammett still supported his wife and daughters financially with the income he made from his writing.

Hammett turned to drinking, advertising, and eventually, writing. His work at the detective agency provided him the inspiration for his writings.

Early work

Later novels

As Hammett's literary style matured, he relied less and less on the super-criminal and turned more to the kind of realistic, hardboiled fiction seen in The Maltese Falcon or The Thin Man. Hardboiled Crime fiction is a literary style pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the The Maltese Falcon is a 1930 Detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally serialized in the magazine " Black Mask " The Thin Man (1934 is a Hardboiled detective novel by Dashiell Hammett. In The Simple Art of Murder, Hammett's successor in the field, Raymond Chandler, summarized Hammett's accomplishments:

Hammett was the ace performer. "The Simple Art of Murder" refers to both a critical Essay and a collection of short stories written by Hard-boiled Detective fiction Raymond Thornton Chandler ( July 23, 1888 &ndash March 26, 1959) was an American Author of crime stories and novels . . He is said to have lacked heart; yet the story he himself thought the most of [The Glass Key] is the record of a man's devotion to a friend. The Glass Key is a novel by Dashiell Hammett, said to be his favorite among his works He was spare, frugal, hard-boiled, but he did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before.

Later years

From 1929 to 1930 Dashiell was romantically involved with Nell Martin, an author of short stories and several novels. Nell Martin (1890—1961 was an American author specializing in light-hearted mysteries and short stories He dedicated The Glass Key to her, and in turn, she dedicated her novel Lovers Should Marry to Hammett. The Glass Key is a novel by Dashiell Hammett, said to be his favorite among his works

In 1931, Hammett embarked on a thirty-year affair with playwright Lillian Hellman. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Lillian Florence Hellman ( June 20, 1905 &ndash June 30, 1984) was an American playwright linked throughout her life with many He wrote his final novel in 1934, and devoted much of the rest of his life to left-wing activism. Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Activism, in a general sense can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change He was a strong anti-fascist throughout the 1930s and in 1937 he joined the American Communist Party. Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies organizations governments and people Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Communist Party of the United States of America ( CPUSA) is a Marxist-Leninist Political party in the United States. [5] As a member of the League of American Writers, he served on its Keep America Out of War Committee in January 1940 during the period of the Hitler-Stalin pact. The League of American Writers was an organization of American writers with ties to the Communist Party USA. [6]

Service in World War Two

In 1942, after Pearl Harbor, Hammett enlisted in the United States Army. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters) was a surprise Military strike conducted by The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Though he was a disabled veteran of WWI, and a victim of tuberculosis, he pulled strings in order to be admitted to the service. He spent most of World War Two as an Army Sergeant in the Aleutian Islands, where he edited an Army newspaper. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries police forces and other uniformed organizations around the world The Aleutian Islands (possibly from Chukchi aliat, " Island " are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming a Volcanic He came out of the war suffering from emphysema. Emphysema is a chronic obstructive Pulmonary disease ( COPD) formerly termed a chronic obstructive Lung disease (COLD

Post-war political activity

After the war, Hammett returned to political activism, "but he played that role with less fervor than before. "[7] He was elected President of the Civil Rights Congress of New York on 5 June 1946 at a meeting held at the Hotel Diplomat in New York City, and "devoted the largest portion of his working time to CRC activities. The Civil Rights Congress (CRC was a civil rights organization formed in 1946 by a merger of the International Labor Defense and the National Federation for Constitutional Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York "[7] In 1946, a bail fund was created by the CRC "to be used at the discretion of three trustees to gain the release of defendants arrested for political reasons. "[8] Those three trustees were Hammett, who was chairman, Robert W. Dunn, and Frederick Vanderbilt Field, "millionaire Communist supporter. Frederick Vanderbilt Field ( April 13, 1905 &ndash February 1, 2000) was a great-great-grandson of railroad tycoon Cornelius "Commodore" "[8] On 3 April 1947, the CRC was designated a Communist front group on the Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations, as directed by U. Events 1043 - Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Communist Front was originally the term used by the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA and then later by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC The United States Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations was a list drawn up on April 3, 1947 at the request of the United States Attorney General S. President Harry S. Truman’s Executive Order 9835. States]] Executive Order 9835, sometimes known as The Loyalty Order, was signed March 21 1947 by U [9]

Imprisonment and the blacklist

The CRC's bail fund gained national attention on 4 November 1949, when bail in the amount of "$260,000 in negotiable government bonds" was posted "to free eleven men appealing their convictions under the Smith Act for criminal conspiracy to teach and advocate the overthrow of the United States government by force and violence. Events 1333 - Flood of the Arno River, causing massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "[8] On 2 July 1951, their appeals exhausted, four of the convicted men fled rather than surrender themselves to Federal agents and begin serving their sentences. Events 310 - Pope Miltiades is elected 626 - In fear of assassination Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January "At that time the U. S. District Court, Southern District of New York, issued subpoenas for the trustees of the CRC bail fund in an attempt to learn the whereabouts of the fugitives. . . ". [8] Hammett testified on 9 July 1951 in front of United States District Court Judge Sylvester Ryan, facing questioning by U. Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January S. District Attorney Irving Saypol, described by Time as "the nation's number one legal hunter of top Communists". For other uses see Time (disambiguation Time is a component of a measuring system used to sequence events to compare the durations of [8] During the hearing Hammett refused to provide the information the government wanted, specifically, the list of contributors to the bail fund, "people who might be sympathetic enough to harbor the fugitives. "[8] Instead, on every question regarding the CRC or the bail fund, Hammett took the Fifth Amendment, refusing to even identify his signature or initials on CRC documents the government had subpoenaed. As soon as his testimony concluded, Hammett was immediately found guilty of contempt of court. Contempt of court is a court ruling which in the context of a court trial or hearing deems an individual as having been disrespectful of the court its process and its invested [8][10][11][12]

During the 1950s he was investigated by Congress (see McCarthyism), and testified on March 26, 1953 before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses McCarthyism is a term describing the intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States in a period that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s Although he testified to his own activities, he refused to cooperate with the committee, and was blacklisted. "Hollywood Ten" redirects here For the 1950 short documentary film see The Hollywood Ten.

Death

Grave of Samuel Dashiell Hammett in Arlington National Cemetery
Grave of Samuel Dashiell Hammett in Arlington National Cemetery

On January 10, 1961, Hammett died in New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital, of lung cancer, diagnosed just two months prior. Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States, established during the American Civil War The City of New York Lenox Hill Hospital, on Manhattan 's Upper East Side, is a 652-bed acute care Hospital and a major teaching affiliate of NYU Medical Center Lung cancer is a Disease of uncontrolled Cell growth in tissues of the Lung. As a veteran of two World Wars, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States, established during the American Civil War

Works

Published as

Quotes

“ [Hammett] took murder out of the Venetian vase and dropped it into the alley. . . [He] gave murder back to the kind of people who do it for a reason, not just to provide a corpse; and with means at hand, not with handwrought dueling pistols, curare, and tropical fish. Curare ''rah'' ree is a common name for various Arrow poisons originating from South America ”
 
“ I have been asked many times over the years why he did not write another novel after The Thin Man. Raymond Thornton Chandler ( July 23, 1888 &ndash March 26, 1959) was an American Author of crime stories and novels "The Simple Art of Murder" refers to both a critical Essay and a collection of short stories written by Hard-boiled Detective fiction I do not know. I think, but I only think, I know a few of the reasons: he wanted to do a new kind of work; he was sick for many of those years and getting sicker. But he kept his work, and his plans for work, in angry privacy and even I would not have been answered if I had ever asked, and maybe because I never asked is why I was with him until the last day of his life. ”
 
— Lillian Hellman, in an introduction to a compilation of Hammett's five novels

See also

References

  1. ^ Layman, Richard (1981). Lillian Florence Hellman ( June 20, 1905 &ndash June 30, 1984) was an American playwright linked throughout her life with many Shadow Man: The Life of Dashiell Hammett. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, p. Harcourt Trade Publishers is a US Publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for children and adults 239. ISBN 0-15-181459-7.  
  2. ^ Layman, Richard & Bruccoli, Matthew J. (2002). Hardboiled Mystery Writers: A Literary Reference. Carroll & Graf, p. 225. ISBN 0-7867-1029-2.  
  3. ^ Shoemaker, Sandy, Tobacco to Tomcats: St. Mary's County since the Revolution, StreamLine Enterprises, Leonardtown, Maryland, pp. 160, <http://www.somd.lib.md.us/tobacco_to_tomcats/>. Retrieved on 1 January 2008 
  4. ^ Thomas Heise, "'Going blood-simple like the natives': Contagious Urban Spaces and Modern Power in Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest", Modern Fiction Studies 51, no. 3 (Fall 2005) 506
  5. ^ FAQ at the CPUSA site
  6. ^ Franklin Folsom, Days of Anger, Days of Hope, University Press of Colorado, 1994, ISBN 0870813323
  7. ^ a b Layman, Richard (1981). The University Press of Colorado is a nonprofit publisher supported partly by Adams State College, Colorado State University, Fort Lewis College, Mesa Shadow Man: The Life of Dashiell Hammett. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, p. Harcourt Trade Publishers is a US Publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for children and adults 206. ISBN 0-15-181459-7.  
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Shadow Man: The Life of Dashiell Hammett, pp. 219-223
  9. ^ Enid Nemy. Frederick Vanderbilt Field, Wealthy Leftist, Dies at 94. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-11-27. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1095 - Pope Urban II declares the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont
  10. ^ Metress, Christopher (1994). The Critical Response to Dashiell Hammett. Greenwood Press. Greenwood Press, based in Connecticut, is an Imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group Inc  
  11. ^ Johnson, Diane (1983). Dashiell Hammett, a Life. Random House. Random House Inc is the world's largest English-language general trade book publisher  
  12. ^ Petri Liukkonen. Dashiell Hammett. Books and Writers. Retrieved on 2007-11-27. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1095 - Pope Urban II declares the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont
  13. ^ Bleiler, Everett (1948). Everett Franklin Bleiler (born 1920 is an editor and bibliographer of Science fiction and Fantasy. The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers, 140.  

Bibliography

External links


Persondata
NAME Hammett, Dashiell
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hammett, Samuel Dashiell
SHORT DESCRIPTION American Novelist
DATE OF BIRTH May 27, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Saint Mary's County, Maryland
DATE OF DEATH January 10, 1961
PLACE OF DEATH New York City, New York
The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center is a Library and Archive at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Saint Mary's County (often abbreviated as St Mary's County) is a County located in the U Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York
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