Raymond Chandler

There were three conflicts in the mind of Raymond Chandler. These concerned his desire to become a "literary" writer as opposed to the need, once writing became his sole source of income, to continue turning out pulp stories and Philip Marlowe thrillers; his conflicted sexuality, a legacy of his childhood and education at an English public school; and his reluctance to support a thoroughgoing overhaul of the materialistic society he criticized in his novels. Raymond Chandler: The Man behind the Mask breaks new ground in taking a fresh look at a writer whose biographers have often overlooked or willfully ignored his sexuality and political thought.Ken Fuller is a former labor union official from London. He is the author of several books, including Hardboiled Activist: The Work and Politics of Dashiell Hammett.