NAME ___________________________________________________________________________

THE LIFE OF A CRIME WRITER

One of the great writers of detective fiction, Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago in 1888. When he was
twelve, his family emigrated to England. As a young man, he took up writing and worked for a number of
newspapers as a reporter and book critic. In 1912 he sailed to America and eventually made his home in
California.
After the First World War, Chandler went into business and became a top executive for an oil company. When
he was 36 he married a woman who was eighteen years older than him and, soon after, he returned to writing,
producing stories for pulp magazines such as Black Mask. In 1938 he was working on his first novel, The Big
Sleep. This was published in 1939, when Chandler was 50, and was an instant success. It introduced, in the
words of one critic, a new type of crime novel in which ingenuity of plot and detection combine with a
distinctive and distinguished literary style.
His next novels were equally successful. They all featured his most famous character, a private detective
called Philip Marlowe. Marlowe remains an incredibly powerful character today, hard on the outside but
sensitive inside. He investigates not only murders, but the dark side of life in general. Marlowes own thoughts
and dialogues are as important and interesting as the action itself.
In his later years, Chandler became rich and famous. However, after his wife died, he began to drink heavily
and he suffered increasingly from depression and bad health. He died in California in 1959.

Questions
1 Are the following statements true or false? Write
down the evidence from the text. No points are
given for only true or false. (2 points)
a When Chandler was a teenager, he lived in
England.
b It took a long time for Chandlers books to
become popular.
2 In your own words and based on the ideas from the
text, answer the following questions. (2 points)
a What different jobs did Chandler do in his life?
b What was the key to the success of Chandlers
novels featuring Philip Marlowe?
4 Complete the following sentences. Use the
appropriate form of the words given in brackets.
(2 points)
a At the moment I __________ (read) a book
by Raymond Chandler and I __________
(think) its excellent.
b I used to __________ (be) mad about books
but now I love __________ (go) to the
cinema.
c I am __________ (interest) in Chandler
because he was the __________ (create) of
so many good stories.
d While Chandler __________ (live) in
England he __________ (start) to write for
different newspapers.

3 Find the words in the text that mean the same as

the following words and phrases. (1 point) 5 Write 100150 words on one of the following
topics. (3 points)
a began (paragraph 1)
b in the end (paragraph 1) a Describe one of your favourite fictional
c exterior (paragraph 3) characters, either from a book or film.
d more and more (paragraph 4) b Write a story about a private detective.