A master of his craft

Look in the “Thrillers” section of any book-shop English or German, and you're sure to find books by Raymond Chandler there. Chandler, who died in 1959, wrote only seven novels, but they became classics of their kind.

The central character in all of them is Philip Marlowe, a private detective who lives and works in the Los Angeles area. One may say that Marlowe is a typical American hero: tough, honest, quick-witted, always ready to risk his life for somebody who suffers injustice. Marlowe is poor, because Chandler believes it is impossible for a decent man to become rich. He is, in a way, a failure. As Chandler writes in a letter: “I see him always in a lonely street, in lonely rooms, puzzled but never quite defeated." And Marlowe is an idealist. In Chandler's words: “He doesn't talk or behave like an idealist, but I think he is one at heart; and I think he rather hates to admit it, even to himself."

Unlike his hero Philip Marlowe, who was born in Santa Rosa, California, Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1888. When his father left the family, his mother took him to England to stay with her relatives in London. From 1900 to 1905 he attended an English public school and then spent some time in France and Germany in order to learn the languages.
After various jobs in London and Los Angeles, and service in France during the First World War, Chandler returned to the United States to live in southern California, where he eventually became director of a number of oil companies. Fired from his job for drinking, he turned to writing, publishing his first short story in 1933. In 1939 he brought out his first novel, The Big Sleep. This and the novels that followed, together with the film scripts he wrote for Hollywood, made him one of America's leading writers.

His books were ideal material for films. The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946), with Humphrey Bogart as Philip Marlowe, was one of the best films based on a novel by Chandler. For Chandler, Bogart was just the right actor to play Marlowe. “Bogart can be tough without a gun," he wrote in a letter.

Together with his wife - they married in 1924 - Chandler lived a rather secluded life. Perhaps for this reason he was a great letter writer. His “Selected Letters", like his novels and short stories, show him as a master of the American language.

Задания:

1. Дайте ответы на следующие вопросы, касающиеся Раймонда Чандлера.

a) Where can you find Raymond Chandler’s books? b) When did Chandler live? c) Where was he born? d) Where did Chandler live as a child? e) What kind of school did he attend? f) Why did he spend some time in France and Ger¬many? g) Where did Chandler go to live after the First World War? h) What did he do before he became a writer? i) When did he get married? j) When did he publish his first novel? k) How many novels did he write? I) Did he only write novels?

2. Дайте ответы на следующие вопросы, касающиеся Филиппа Марлоу.

a) What does Marlowe do? b) Where does Marlowe live and work? c) What kind of man is he? d) Why isn’t Marlowe rich, according to Chandler? e) Do you think he’s married? (Why or why not?) f) Where was Marlowe born? g) Who was the ideal actor to play Marlowe?

3. Дополните предложения.

a) Raymond Chandler lived from ... b) He was born ... c) He wrote ... d) The central character in Chandler’s novels is ... e) Philip Marlowe is ... f) Chandler attended ... g) He spent some time in ... h) After the First World War, Chandler ... i) He eventually became ... j) Chandler got mar¬ried ... k) He published his first ... I) Humphrey Bogart ...

4. Расскажите о себе.

a) I was born ... b) I went to school in ... с) I went to the ... school for ... years / from ... to ... d) I lived in ... from ... to ... e) I spent some time in ... f) I now live in ... g) I work / go to school ... h) I am ... married and have ... children. (1 got married in ...) i) 1 (don't) like thrillers / Humphrey Bogart films / writing letters / ...

5. Вставьте глагол в соответствующей форме.

a) Raymond Chandler …  in 1888 and … in 1959. b) After the First World War, Chandler … to live in southern California, c) He eventually … director of a number of oil companies but was fired from his job for … d) Finding himself without a job, he turned to … e) He … his first novel in 1939. f) Howard Hawks’ film The Big Sleep was … on a novel by Chandler. g) Humphrey Bogart was the right actor …  Marlowe because he … be tough without a gun. h) According to Chandler, Marlowe hated … that he was an idealist, i) Chandler … married in 1924. j) Chandler and his wile …  a rather secluded life.

6. Вставьте who, which, that, where, гдеэтонеобходимо.

a) Chicago is the city … Chandler was born; it’s not the city … he lived and worked. b) This is the school …  Chandler attended.  c) The Big Sleep was the first novel …  Chandler wrote.d) The Big Sleep and the novels …  followed made Chandler famous, e) Among the film scripts …  Chandler wrote was one for a film by Alfred Hitchcock. f) Philip Marlowe is a private detective … lives and works in the Los Angeles area. g) Marlowe is always ready to help people … suffer injustice. h) The actor …  plays Philip Marlowe should be tough and honest. i) Casablanca is one of the films …  made Bogart famous. j) Thisisthe bookshop … IboughtTheBigSleep.

7. Переведите.

а)Раймонд Чандлер писал детективные романы, которые стали своего рода классикой. Ь) Чандлер родился в 1888 году в Чикаго. с) В 1895 году мать привезла его в Англию. d) С 1900 до 1905 года он учился в английской частной школе. е) Частная школа, которую посещал Чандлер, находится южнее (south) Лондонского City.  f) Чандлер женился в 1924 году. g) В 1939 году он опубликовал свой первый роман.  h) Этот роман и другие, ко¬торые за ним последовали, сделали Чандлера одним из ведущих писателей Америки. i) Герой Чандлера Филипп Марлоу - частный сыщик, который живет и работает на территории Лос-Анджелеса.