This class will be held at Busboys and Poets in Brookland:
625 Monroe Street NE Suite A1-A2
Washington, DC 20017
Wednesday, January 21, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Sold out!
This class has reached capacity, please email Justin at jstephani@politics-prose.com to be placed on the wait list.
Price: $40 (10% off for members)
Born in Maryland, Dashiell Hammett revolutionized American literature with just five novels and a handful of short fiction plus his film-related writing. Often called the father of hardboiled fiction, Hammett also pioneered the art form we now call noir, especially in the three great novels that are the focus of this class:
The Maltese Falcon, Hammett’s most famous work that was almost line-for-line and shot-for-shot adapted into the Humphrey Bogart movie.
Hammett’s first novel Red Harvest that Time Magazine listed as one of the 100 best English language novels published between 1923 and 2005.
The Glass Key, sometimes cited as Hammett’s favorite of his novels, also adapted as an Alan Ladd movie and a major influence on today’s filmmaking Coen brothers.
Each of these novels reflects a political vision—though not the politics of the Sunday TV talk shows—and Hammett was a political player in everything from the glories of the Corcoran Museum of Art to the goriest days of McCarthyism not to mention that Hammett was veteran of both World Wars and earned his gravestone in Arlington Cemetery. Through discussion and lecture, this class will explore these three great noir novels, along with the politics, American culture, and personal choices they reveal.
As an additional suggestion, participants may want to read portions of The Hunter and Other Stories, a collection of more of Hammett’s work.
Book:
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett
The Hunter And Other Stories by Dashiel Hammett
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Nominated for an Edgar by the Mystery Writers of America, James Grady is best known for his first novel that became the Robert Redford movie Three Days of the Condor. Grady has published a dozen more novels and twice that number of short stories, been a journalist for Jack Anderson's column and AOL's PolticsDaily.com. France gave Grady its Grand Prix du Roman Noir, Italy gave him its Raymond Chandler medal. He's taught numerous classes for Politics & Prose on such topics as Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James Cain, John LeCarre, noir, private eye and spy novels, and will release a new book, Last Days of the Condor, in February.
REFUND POLICY: Please note that we can issue class refunds up until seven (7) days before the first class session.
$14.00
ISBN-13: 9780679722618
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 7/1989
$14.00
ISBN-13: 9780679722649
$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780679722625
By Dashiell Hammett, Richard Layman, Julie M. Rivett
$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780802121592
