Doug writes,
"It's suddenly occurred to me that some classic female hb
writers are out-of-print: Helen Nielsen, Leigh Brackett, Vin
Packer, Dolores Hitchens, Dorothy Hughes."
Actually I believe some of Dorothy B. Hughes' work is still
in print, especially Ride the Pink Horse and In a Lonely
Place, both made into films. All were in paperback series in
the 80s, so can still be found in used bookstores and on the
web. I even found a hardback trilogy for a reasonable price
about a year ago, as I remember.
Last Spring, I presented a paper on her early work and
made the perhaps overreaching comment that she may have been
the first woman to write novels in the hard-boiled or noir
mode. Believe I checked her pub dates against most of those
mentioned by Doug (espec. Leigh B.), but would be interested
in hearing challenges to my comment. Hughes started off with
Buchan- style (sp?) chase and menace thrillers, and gradually
darkened her canvas. In Pink Horse and Lonely Place, she's
scouting the territory that Jim Thompson later
developed.
Bill Hagen
billha@ionet.net
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