“The Barber and His Wife” was initially rejected before eventually finding a place in the December 1922 edition Brief Stories magazine (with Hammett writing under the pseudonym “Peter Collinson”). It has since appeared in at least two Hammett collections. Most recently it found a spot among the contents of Lost Stories, edited by Vince Emery (2005). It’s not a detective yarn. Instead, the piece has to do with a cocky barber, who believes his devotion to routine and a health regimen should be sufficient to keep his wife happy and homebound. But he may not be the only one living a deception.
As Emery explains in Lost Stories,
At first glance, this may not be the sort of story you associate with Hammett. But look closer and you will see many characteristics of his mature writing, already present in this, his first literary experiment.According to blogger and editor Aldo Calcagno, who also works on the CrimeWAV podcasts, Harwood himself will read “The Barber and His Wife” for this forthcoming podcast.
First, his style is tight and controlled. Hammett’s prose never slips into looseness, even though conversations are informal. Each word is deliberately chosen.
Second, there is a complete lack of sentimentality.
Third, Hammett seems to reflect on a question that critics point out in his later work: What is a real man? In other words, how can a man be both masculine and authentic?
Fourth, this first story provides the first instances of many recurring elements that Hammett would use repeatedly throughout his stories, novels, and movie writings, elements I call “Hammettisms.” It is remarkable to find so many elements of an author’s mature fiction packed into the very first piece he wrote.
Listen in, beginning on Sunday.
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