Free Essays on Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1894 - 1961) Type of Work: Detective mystery novel Setting San Francisco; 1920s Principal Characters Sam Spade, a young hard-boiled detective Miles Archer, Spade's older partner Brigid O'Shaughnessy, a beautiful young woman (alias Miss Wonderly) Joel Cairo, an effeminate gangster-type Casper Gutman, a rotund, older man Iva Archer, Archer's wife and Spade's mistress Story Overview Effie Perine, secretary to private detective Sam Spade, opened his door to announce that a client, Miss Wonderly, was there to see him. A stunning young woman entered and shyly took a seat. She stammered and bit her lip as she tried to relate her story. Finally the detective assured her it would be best to begin at the beginning. Miss Wonderly said that she was concerned for her seventeen-year-old sister, who had run off with an older man named Thursby. She had arranged a meeting with Thursby for that evening, and now wanted to hire a detective to follow him from the meeting - straight to her sister, she hoped. Spade gave his partner, Miles Archer, the details of Miss Wonderly's case. She paid them two hundred dollars, and left with the agreement that Archer would tail Thursby that evening. That night Spade was awakened by a phone call: Archer had been murdered. Spaae rushed to the scene. According to the police ' Archer was shot with a British-made Webley revolver. Spade phoned his secretary and asked her to call Iva, his partner's wife, to break the bad news. Then he returned to his apartment. Sam had just "drunk his third glass Of Bicardi and was lighting his fifth cigarette" when the doorbell rang. It was the police; Lieutenants Dundy and Polhaus wanted to question Sam about the death of yet another man. Thursby, it turned out, had been shot outside his hotel shortly after Spade left the Archer murder scene. Considering the circumstances of Archer's death, the police reasoned Spade m... Free Essays on Maltese Falcon Free Essays on Maltese Falcon The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1894 - 1961) Type of Work: Detective mystery novel Setting San Francisco; 1920s Principal Characters Sam Spade, a young hard-boiled detective Miles Archer, Spade's older partner Brigid O'Shaughnessy, a beautiful young woman (alias Miss Wonderly) Joel Cairo, an effeminate gangster-type Casper Gutman, a rotund, older man Iva Archer, Archer's wife and Spade's mistress Story Overview Effie Perine, secretary to private detective Sam Spade, opened his door to announce that a client, Miss Wonderly, was there to see him. A stunning young woman entered and shyly took a seat. She stammered and bit her lip as she tried to relate her story. Finally the detective assured her it would be best to begin at the beginning. Miss Wonderly said that she was concerned for her seventeen-year-old sister, who had run off with an older man named Thursby. She had arranged a meeting with Thursby for that evening, and now wanted to hire a detective to follow him from the meeting - straight to her sister, she hoped. Spade gave his partner, Miles Archer, the details of Miss Wonderly's case. She paid them two hundred dollars, and left with the agreement that Archer would tail Thursby that evening. That night Spade was awakened by a phone call: Archer had been murdered. Spaae rushed to the scene. According to the police ' Archer was shot with a British-made Webley revolver. Spade phoned his secretary and asked her to call Iva, his partner's wife, to break the bad news. Then he returned to his apartment. Sam had just "drunk his third glass Of Bicardi and was lighting his fifth cigarette" when the doorbell rang. It was the police; Lieutenants Dundy and Polhaus wanted to question Sam about the death of yet another man. Thursby, it turned out, had been shot outside his hotel shortly after Spade left the Archer murder scene. Considering the circumstances of Archer's death, the police reasoned Spade m...