Maltese Falcon Book Summary

The maltese falcon is a 1930 detective novel by american writer dashiell hammett originally serialized in the magazine black mask beginning with the september 1929 issue.

Maltese falcon book summary. The maltese falcon introduction context. The maltese falcon by dashiell hammett plot summary litcharts. Sam spade is a private detective in san francisco in partnership with miles archer. The novel begins when the knockout miss wonderly walks into spade s office.

It is an early example of the hardboiled detective novel which departs from novels in the romantic. These works helped establish the form style and character types that would endure through decades of detective novels. Spade opens the package and finds the figurine falcon. The story is told entirely in external third person narrative.

Gutman smiled benignly at him and said. The beautiful miss wonderly hires them to follow floyd thursby who has run off with her. And she wants to hire the services of a private detective to find her missing sister who supposedly ran off with a crook named thursby. He drops a package on the floor and then dies of gunshot wounds.

To prevent losing the item spade stores. Well wilmer i m sorry indeed to lose you and i want you to know that i couldn t be any fonder of you if you were my own son. One of the most famous detective novels to come out of this period was raymond chandler s the big sleep a novel directly influenced by hammett s fiction. Neither spade nor his partner miles archer buy her story.

But well by gad if you lose a son it s possible to get another and there s only one maltese falcon dashiell hammett the maltese falcon. Complete summary of dashiell hammett s the maltese falcon. It turns out she s a knockout with money. The maltese falcon is a slim novel that moves along at a rapid pace and feels almost as fleeting as watching the iconic film adaptation starring humphrey bogart as its world weary private detective sam spade.

But with the money she s paying who cares. Soon afterwards an injured man identified as captain jacobi of la paloma shows up at the office. Along with the maltese falcon hammett s the glass key marked the beginning of a literary golden age of crime fiction. Enotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of the maltese falcon.

The maltese falcon summary. Sam is called away from the office. There is no description whatever of any character s thoughts or feelings only what they say and do and how they look. It is a detective novel set in 1928 in san francisco featuring protagonist sam spade who also appears in three other lesser known short stories.

Detailed summary analysis chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8 chapter 9 chapter 10 chapter 11 chapter 12 chapter 13 chapter 14 chapter 15 chapter 16 chapter 17 chapter 18 chapter 19 chapter 20 themes all themes lies and. The maltese falcon by dashiell hammet was originally published serially in the magazine black mask in five parts between 1929 and 1930.