Philately - The Fiction Connection
The Mystery Box book is the proud winner of a Silver Medal awarded by the Chicago Philatelic Society CHICAGOPEX Literature Exhibit
Read the Book Review by Barbara Kinne of the APS American Philatelist
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The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler An infamously complex plot, twisting and turning through a labyrinth of 1940s LA streets. But it's not the plot that will captivate. It's Chandler's people - his characters. Chandler was to attain fame, warmth, and acceptance from British fans long before he returned to California - but not to LA, to live out his last days. The unabridged audio cassette is read by Elliot Gould and makes a great evening commute companion. The video is the Bogart and Bacall B&W classic with the screenplay in this instance provided by William Faulkner. This version is NTSC (US/Canada) only. Buy Hardcover from Amazon [Includes Farewell My Lovely] Approx $12.25Buy abridged Audio Cassette from Amazon Approx $11.87 Buy Unadbridged Audio Cassette from Amazon Approx $20.97 Buy Video from Amazon Approx $16.99 |
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Farewell my Lovely, by Raymond Chandler Robert Mitchum is the ultimate tough guy, a real man's man, and very much a kind of hard-nose LA type. Mitchum's portrayal goes a long way towards making this one of my favorite Chandler movies, although perhaps not my favorite Chandler novels (The Long Goodbye takes that honor). Buy Hardcover from Amazon [Includes The Big Sleep] Approx $12.25Buy Large Print Ed. from Amazon Approx $21.95 Buy Video from Amazon Approx $12.99 |
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Murder my Sweet A movie adaptation of Farewell My Lovely, Dick Powell leaps from the soft singing roles into a very brash and effective Marlowe. Quite a contrast with the Mitchum version, but considered by some to be the most faithful to Chandler's Marlowe of all the cinematic versions Buy Video from Amazon Approx $16.99 |
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Lady in the Lake, by Raymond Chandler The case takes LA PI Marlowe to a mountain lake resort, which I imagine to be Lake Arrowhead. Apparently there's just as much trouble to be found high in the clouds as back in the big smoke and Marlowe's cherchez la femme is as entertaining as ever. The movie features Robert Montgomery, w ho to my taste, portrays Marlowe with the least depth of character. Buy Reprint Ed. from Amazon Approx $8.80 Buy Large Print Ed. from Amazon Approx $23.95 Buy Video from Amazon Approx $16.99 |
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The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, Peter Lorre (who was a stamp collector and APS member) plays Joel Cairo , and Sidney Greenstreet as the Fat Man match wits and wit throughout this classic noir of cross and double cross. Mary Astor plays the dame. Buy Paperback. from Amazon Approx $21.95 Buy the Video from Amazon |
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Gaudy Night, by Dorothy L. Sayers Quite a jump from the noir of Chandler and Dashiell to the sophistication and urbanity of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey and his paramour Harriet Vane. Much has been said about Gaudy Night, particularly with respect to its autobiographical elements of career vs. marriage, academia, and the nature of love. Synopsis from Amazon: "Harriet Vane's Oxford reunion [called a Gaudy] is shadowed by a rash of bizarre pranks that include beautifully worded death threats, and Harriet finds Lord Peter and herself challenged by an elusive set of clues." Buy Paperback. from Amazon Approx $4.79 Buy the Audio Cassette from Amazon Approx $11.89 |
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Whose Body, by Dorothy L. Sayers This novel will please those looking for "the classic British murder mystery". Synopsis from Amazon: "The naked body was lying in the tub. Not unusual for a proper bath, but highly irregular for murder--especially with a pair of gold pince-nez deliberately perched before the sightless eyes. What's more, the face appeared to have been shaved after death. In this, his first murder case, Lord Peter untangles the mystery of the corpse in the bath.." Buy Paperback. from Amazon Approx $4.79 Buy the Audio Cassette from Amazon Approx $16.07 |
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