spade, sam (fictitious character)

Provides research material for the study of "The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett. Includes a biographical overview of Hammett; coverage of his years as a detective; information on the composition of the novel; and critical responses to the novel. Also discusses the movies, radio shows, and other spin-offs from the novel.

Literary Masterpieces is one series of the trio that makes up the Gale Study Guides to Great Literature (the others are Literary Topics and Literary Masters). Each Literary Masterpieces volume chooses a book by one of the authors covered in Literary Masters and offers a discussion of themes, characters, comparisons with social events of the era when the book was written and a critical analysis. Dashiell Hammett began writing in 1922 and was one of many mystery writers in America at that time. However, he was the most accomplished and his experiences as a Pinkerton detective brought realism to his mystery fiction. The Maltese Falcon, as well as many of his other works, are mysteries of lasting literary worth.

Presents three classic crime novels by Dashiell Hammett, including "The Maltese Falcon," in which Sam Spade, a private eye in 1920s San Francisco, tangles with a beautiful, treacherous woman; "The Thin Man," in which married sophisticates Nick and Nora Charles search for a murderer in Manhattan; and "Red Harvest," in which the Continental OP wages war against corruption in Poisonville.