Writer James Chase: biography, creativity, books and reviews

The author of the detective novels James Hadley Chase has becomeIt is widely popular in Russia and throughout the post-Soviet space only in the nineties. But in all other literary world he was known for a long time and rightfully enjoyed authority as one of the biggest luminaries in the criminal genre.

Some facts from the biography of the author of detectives

The future well-known writer James Hadley Chasewas born in December 1906 in the capital of Great Britain. As befitted a son of a retired British officer, he received a classic English Victorian education at a secondary school in the city of Rochester in the county of Kent. And later he continued it in the colony, in Calcutta. But it should be noted that in the school magazine he was listed as Rene Brabazon Raymond. This was the name given to him at birth.

And the pseudonym James Hadley Chase he will take himselfmuch later, when he chooses a literary career. But the path to her was not yet close. And this has its positive meaning - before you take up writing, a person should experience something in life.

Towards literature

Contrary to the expectations of relatives, the future JamesChase categorically refused military and public service in choosing his life path. He early began an independent life and had time to try many different professions. The livelihood was extracted mainly in the field of commerce. He did not bring any wealth to the young man, but greatly expanded his ideas about the world and social mores. The book trade and everything connected with it seemed closest to him.

For several years he was from a closedistance could see everything that happens in the literary world of London. And this determined the final life choice, to which James Chase came at the age of thirty. His career in commerce at this point has reached the highest point - the head of the department in a large bookstore. He decides to try his hand in competition with those people whose products he was forced to trade.

First steps

Having studied the requests and customs of the mass audience well,begins the writer with works of light form - short humorous stories and feuilletons. But this does not bring tangible success. And really loudly James Chase declared himself the first major novel - "No Orchids for Miss Blandish." This work is considered his debut. It immediately determined the level of his skill and made him treat the thirty-two-year-old author as an already formed writer.

This book, in its plot is an ordinarygangster militant, at first glance did not differ anything from a number of her kind. But the novel attracted readers and publishers with the ease of the syllable and wit in describing the criminal being. This was the first novel signed by the pseudonym James Hadley Chase. The public considered him to be a real name.

During the war

James Chase, whose books were readily boughtreading public and published by the largest publishers, was inspired by the long-awaited success and worked on new works. But his creative plans were hampered by the Second World War. Since September 1940, London has been subjected to fierce bombing of German aviation. This left no choice. James Chase becomes a pilot of the Royal Air Force of Great Britain. He makes combat sorties and fights against the fascists.

In the Pacific

The novels of James Chase in the postwar period are strongentered the literary everyday life as a peculiar classic of the criminal genre. The writer of this state of affairs could only rejoice. But in the same there was a considerable danger for further creative development.

It was easy to wallow in stamps and endlessrepetition of what has already been written. To avoid this, James Chase travels to Southeast Asia. The action of his new novels is to unfold precisely in this very vast and far from Europe region of the planet. A series of novels from the life of the Asian mafia, the best of which are the "Coffin of Hong Kong" and "The Lotus for Miss Kwon," was created by the writer as early as the sixties. The writer himself at that time moved to his permanent residence in France.

Stylistic features

Many readers of the novels of James Chase, actionwhich for the most part occurs in the territory of the United States of America, do not even know that the writer himself was rarely visited in this country. And convincing in the depiction of American realities is an exceptional merit of the author's talent and imagination. And also the ability to collect and comprehend the collected information. The readers 'and literary critics' comments about the Chase novels agree that their success is due to the author's ability to create in his works a dark oppressive atmosphere and to intrigue with the inability to calculate the course of events.

Their outcome is most often unexpected forreader. And of course, that specific black humor, which corresponds to the depicted realities and characters. His closest competitors within the detective genre of the critic calls such American authors as Raymond Chandler and Deshiel Hammett. For the stylistic designation of this genre, it is common to operate with the definition of "noir". There is nothing surprising in that the books of James Chase are widely filmed in many countries of the world. It is interesting here that European filmmakers turned to this material much more often than Hollywood.

Chase Books in Russia

James Hadley Chase, whose books were in timeto win steady success in the whole world, to Russia came with a great delay. This was due solely to ideological circumstances. Reviews of official Soviet criticism of this kind of literature have always been sharply negative. Consequently, it simply was not published, and no one knew about it. This state of affairs changed only in the era of perestroika, when ideological barriers collapsed and the inhabitants of a huge country were allowed to read and watch what they wanted. And not what the ideological authorities allowed.

For several years, the Russian language wastranslated almost all of the literary heritage of James Chase. His books were published in millions of copies in the entire post-Soviet space. And one can only regret that James Chase, who left this world in February 1985, was not to know about it. In Russia, he became known only posthumously. But reading him some of today's Russian colleagues, it's easy to see from whom they learned to twist the criminal intrigue and put their characters in their places.