Creatures of Darkness: Raymond Chandler, Detective Fiction, and Film NoirMore than any other writer, Raymond Chandler (1888 1959) is responsible for raising detective stories from the level of pulp fiction to literature. Chandler's hard boiled private eye Philip Marlowe set the standard for rough, brooding heroes who managed to maintain a strong sense of moral conviction despite a cruel and indifferent world. Chandler's seven novels, including The Big Sleep (1939) and The Long Goodbye (1953), with their pessimism and grim