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The High Window

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The High Window

By: Raymond Chandler
Narrated by: Full Cast, Toby Stephens
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About this listen

 Fast-talking, trouble-seeking private eye Philip Marlowe is a different kind of detective: a moral man in an amoral world. California in the ’40s and ’50s is as beautiful as a ripe fruit and rotten to the core, and Marlowe must struggle to retain his integrity amidst the corruption he encounters daily. In The High Window, Marlowe starts out on the trail of a single stolen coin and ends up knee-deep in bodies. His client, a dried-up husk of a woman, wants him to recover a rare gold coin called a Brasher Doubloon, missing from her late husband’s collection. That’s the simple part. But Marlowe finds that everyone who handles the coin suffers a run of very bad luck: they always end up dead. If Marlowe doesn’t wrap this one up fast, he’s going to end up in jail - or worse, in a box in the ground. Starring Toby Stephens, this thrilling dramatisation by Robin Brooks retains all the wry humour of Chandler’s serpentine suspense novel. Classics Dramatisations Entertainment & Performing Arts Modern Detectives Mystery Adaptation Fiction
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Would you listen to Raymond Chandler: The High Window (Dramatised) again? Why?

I definitely would listen to this again. It is a classic with great characters and a fantastic sense of style. If you like your crime sharp and classy this is the one.

What other book might you compare Raymond Chandler: The High Window (Dramatised) to, and why?

Set against other crime heroes like Rebus for instance the flawed central character is always more interesting than the one that is squeaky clean (in my opinion).

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favourite?

Marlow has to be brilliant as the thing rests on him. I really enjoyed this cast production.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Again, as a dramatisation it isn't too long to listen to all at once.

Classic Noir

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i absolutely loved this version of chandler's 'the high window'. toby stephens is suitably 'hard-boiled' in his diction and dialogue, but is also sensual and attractive in the role. whereas the late great ed bishop ruled in his bbc versions of the marlowe stories, finally there seems to be a worthy sucessor. the voice actors, the sound effects and the dialogue are very good indeed, and the sultry jazz score is so evocative. i loved 'playback', 'poodle springs' and now this...... just heaven for a girl sleuth like me! i have just bought 'the big sleep' and 'the lady in the lake'.....enough - along with some chocolate chip cookies and quality filter coffee - to keep me going until after christmas!

an exemplary adaptation

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loved it. much better than someone just narrating and talking in different voices. buy it

very different

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