The Big Sleep
by Raymond Chandler
Summary
Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by a wealthy, dying general to handle a blackmail scheme involving one of his two wild daughters, a case that spirals into pornography rings, gambling dens, and multiple murders before Marlowe untangles the truth. Chandler's debut novel established the wisecracking, morally weary detective voice that would define an entire genre, matching intricate plotting with vivid, sun bleached descriptions of Los Angeles corruption. The novel remains a foundational text of American hard boiled crime fiction.
Historical Context & Significance
The Edgar Award did not yet exist when the novel appeared in 1939, since the Mystery Writers of America would not establish the prize until 1946. Chandler's influence on the genre proved so lasting that the award itself later celebrated writers working in the tradition he helped invent.