C is for CHANDLER, RAYMOND

    PULP FICTION 

                      late 1800’s – mid-1950

Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was a British-American novelist and screenwriter. At the age of forty-four, Chandler switched his career to write detective novels after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Great Depression. He taught himself to write pulp fiction by studying the formula Erle Stanley Gardner used for Perry Mason.  

His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939, featuring his famous Philip Marlowe detective character speaking in the first person.

In 1950, Chandler described in a letter to his English publisher why he began reading pulp magazines and then later wrote for them:

 "Wandering up and down the Pacific Coast in an 

    automobile I began to read pulp   magazines,   

   because they were cheap enough to throw away and because I never had at any time any taste for the kind of thing which is known as 

women's magazines. This was in the great days of the Black Mask (if I may call them  

great days) and it struck me that some of the 

writing was pretty forceful and honest, even 

though it had its crude aspect. I decided that 

this might be a good way to try to learn to  

 write fiction and get paid a small amount of  

 money at the same time. I spent five months 

 over an 18,000 word novelette and sold it for 

 $180. After that I never looked back, although I had a good many uneasy periods looking forward."

 Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime Some of Chandler's novels are considered important literary works, and three are often considered masterpieces: Farewell, My Loveley,  (1940), The Little Sister (1949), and The Long Goodbye (1953).

Philip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep, published in 1939. Wikipedia

 

Seven actors played the part of detective, Philip Marlowe:

Dick Powell, “Murder, My Sweet” (1944)

Humphrey Bogart, “The Big Sleep” (1946)

James Garner, “Marlowe” (1969)

Elliott Gould, “The Long Goodbye” (1973)

Robert Mitchum, “Farewell, My Lovely” (1975) and 

“The Big Sleep” (1978)

Powers Boothe, “Philip Marlowe, Private Eye” (1983-1986)

Danny Glover, “Fallen Angels - Red Wind" (1995)

Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall
"The Big Sleep" 1946

B is for BRADBURY as in RAY

A-Z Challenge

   Pulp Fiction - 1890's - 1950’s

     

Dark Carnival is a short story collection,the debut book of Ray Bradbury, first published October 1947 by Arkhan House. 

Wikipedia

 

The Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction short story collection by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled and eventually atomically devastated. 

Wikipedia

Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury published in 1953. It is regarded as one of his best works. The novel presents a future American society where books are outlawed and "firemen" burn any that are found. Wikipedia 

Fahrenheit 451 was first published in Playboy as a series.  

The Illustrated Man is a 1951 book of eighteen science fiction short stories by Ray Bradbury that explores the nature of mankind. Wikipedia

Dandelion Wine is a 1957 novel by Ray Bradbury, taking place in the summer of 1928 in the fictional town of Green Town, Illinois, based upon Bradbury's childhood home of Waukegan, Illinois. Wikipedia

Raymond Douglas Bradbury (August 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012) was an American fantasy, science fiction, horror and mystery fiction author.

Bradbury was one of the most celebrated 20th- and 21st-century American genre writers.

Recipient of numerous awards, including a 2007 Pulitzer Citation, Bradbury also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick^[3] and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted to comic book, television and film formats.

On his death in 2012, The New York Times called Bradbury "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream."  

^{Source: Wikipedia}

Always,

Em-Musing

A is for A.A. FAIR

PULP FICTION 
is my theme for the A-Z Challenge. Such fun with the titles and the graphics, not to mention the stories that readers eagerly bought.

A.A. Fair aka Erle Stanley Gardner, and best known for his Perry Mason series, created many stories for Pulp novels

Pulp fiction is a term that originated in the first half of the 20^th Century in magazines that printed on cheap wood pulp paper, hence the term “pulp”. They cost a mere dime and these publications were so popular in the 1930’ & ‘40’s that every newsstand was blanketed with them. Most were weekly publications so writers of every ilk were in demand. 

The pulp fiction era provided a breeding ground for budding authors who could hone their skills and get a foot in the publishing market, also it provided an additional paycheck for more seasoned authors including Ray Bradbury, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Max Brand, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and others. Even revered authors such as Jack London, Rudyard Kipling, and Tennessee Williams contributed to Pulp.

The demand for new and unusual stories gave way to creative genres: Horror & Dark Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Hardboiled Detective, Spicy, Mystery, Weird, Romance, Western, and Lesbian to name a few.

While the pages were on low-quality pulpwood paper, the covers were colorful and engaging, many showing half-clad women in distress or on the prowl, and fantastic creatures . 

Though Pulp Fiction was given a bad rap, readers craved the stories many of which were actually well-written.

Hope you enjoy this and all the other
letters of Pulp Fiction.

Always, 
Em-Musing