Raymond Chandler (1888-1959), American mystery and crime fiction writer, born in Chicago. He is best known for the creation of a character named Philip Marlowe, a tough but honest private detective, whose no-nonsense attitude is often at odds with the brutal, seamy, pseudo-sophisticated California surroundings in which he operates. Chandler's work, noted for its realism and regionalism, includes the novels The Big Sleep (1939), Farewell, My Lovely (1940), The High Window (1942), The Lady in the Lake (1943), The Long Goodbye (1953), and film scripts such as Double Indemnity (1944) and Strangers on a Train (1951).