The Mysterious Romance of Murder: Crime, Detection, and the Spirit of Noir

Author:   David Lehman
Publisher:   Cornell University Press
ISBN:  

9781501763625


Pages:   296
Publication Date:   15 May 2022
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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The Mysterious Romance of Murder: Crime, Detection, and the Spirit of Noir


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Overview

From Sherlock Holmes to Sam Spade; Nick and Nora Charles to Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin; Harry Lime to Gilda, Madeleine Elster, and other femmes fatales-crime and crime solving in fiction and film captivate us. Why do we keep returning to Agatha Christie's ingenious puzzles and Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled murder mysteries? What do spy thrillers teach us, and what accounts for the renewed popularity of morally ambiguous noirs? In The Mysterious Romance of Murder, the poet and critic David Lehman explores a wide variety of outstanding books and movies-some famous (The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity), some known mainly to aficionados-with style, wit, and passion. Lehman revisits the smoke-filled jazz clubs from the classic noir films of the 1940s, the iconic set pieces that defined Hitchcock's America, the interwar intrigue of Eric Ambler's best fictions, and the intensity of attraction between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. He also considers the evocative elements of noir-cigarettes, cocktails, wisecracks, and jazz standards-and offers five original noir poems (including a pantoum inspired by the 1944 film Laura) and ironic astrological profiles of Barbara Stanwyck, Marlene Dietrich, and Graham Greene. Written by a connoisseur with an uncanny feel for the language and mood of mystery, espionage, and noir, The Mysterious Romance of Murder will delight fans of the genre and newcomers alike.

Full Product Details

Author:   David Lehman
Publisher:   Cornell University Press
Imprint:   Cornell University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 2.40cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9781501763625


ISBN 10:   1501763628
Pages:   296
Publication Date:   15 May 2022
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

"Introduction: The Mysterious Romance of Murder Part I: Killer Style 1. Cracking Wise 2. Paradise of the Damned: Eighteen Notes on Noir 3. Poetry Noir 4. Five Noir Poems ""Perfidia"" ""Laura"" ""Witness to a Murder"" ""The Formula"" ""Just a Couple of Mugs"" Part II: The Elements of Crime 5. Here's to Crime! 6. The Last Cigarette 7. Among My Souvenirs Part III: Auteurs 8. The Great British Spymasters 9. The Limits of Logic: Trent's Last Case (E. C. Bentley) 10. Dashiell Hammett's Priceless Patter 11. Paperclip (Raymond Chandler) 12. ""Grim Grin"" (Graham Greene) 13. Rex Stout: The Emperor of Couronne de Canard 14. Ida Lupino: The First Lady of Noir 15. Black Friday (David Goodis) 16. Orange Noir (Charles Willeford) 17. Ed McBain: The Man from Isola 18. Hitchcock's America Part IV: Dreams That Money Can Buy 19. Straight Down the Line: Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944) 20. Strangers and Mirrors: Orson Welles's The Stranger (1946) and The Lady from Shanghai (1947) 21. An Exchange of Bullets in Belfast: Carol Reed's Odd Man Out (1947) 22. Blind Accidents: John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle (1950) 23. Epitaph for a Genre: Stanley Kubrick's The Killing (1956) 24. Shadow of Evil: Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear (1962) 25. A Reluctant Spy's Conversion: William Holden in The Counterfeit Traitor (1962) 26. Gangsters in Love: Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America (1984) 27. Rogues' Gallery 28. Why Not New York? Part V: The Imp of the Perverse 29. Three Astrological Profiles Barbara Stanwyck (July 16) Graham Greene (October 2) Marlene Dietrich (December 27)"

Reviews

As one might expect from this distinguished poet and versatile man of letters, his sprightly new book isn't just deeply knowledgeable, it's also a lot of fun. -- Michael Dirda * The Washington Post * The real originality of this book lies less in its critical comments than in its creativity. Lehman, who is also a poet, includes poems, his own and others', inspired by or imitating noir. He even offers a haiku. As if conversing with another aficionado, he compares favorite actors and moments, repeats favorite wisecracks, and tries to recreate the pleasure of the initial experience. In his casual way he also sparks ideas. How often does a critical book actually make one want to read the books it discusses? * The Times Literary Supplement *


As one might expect from this distinguished poet and versatile man of letters, his sprightly new book isn't just deeply knowledgeable, it's also a lot of fun. -- Michael Dirda * The Washington Post *


Author Information

David Lehman is a poet and writer whose many books include The Morning Line, Sinatra's Century, and One Hundred Autobiographies. He is the editor of The Oxford Book of American Poetry and The Best American Poetry series. He divides his time between Ithaca and New York City.

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