Penguin Readers Factsheets level E Teacher’s notes 1 2 3 The Lady in the Lake 4 5 by Raymond Chandler 6 ELEMENTARY SUMMARY he Lady in the Lake, first published in 1943, is the As Chandler’s reputation grew, he was employed as a T fourth of Raymond Chandler’s great detective screenwriter in Hollywood, and after Humphrey Bogart stories featuring private detective Philip Marlowe. and Lauren Bacall starred in a film of The Big Sleep he As usual, Marlowe is employed to find a missing person, became world famous. In later life he became increasingly in this case the wife of Derace Kingsley, but in the course dependent on alcohol but he was recognized before he THE LADY IN LAKE of his investigation he uncovers a series of related crimes. died in 1959 as the outstanding writer of detective stories When Marlowe tries to interview Mrs Kingsley’s lover, in the USA. Lavery, he arouses the suspicions of a Doctor Almore, who lives opposite, and is warned off by a detective BACKGROUND AND THEMES named Degarmo. At Kingsley’s house in the mountains, Marlowe and the caretaker, Bill Chess, find the body of a The first detective stories were published in English in the woman in the lake, the face now unrecognizable but mid-nineteenth century, but they really became popular in apparently that of Chess’s wife, Muriel. the 1890s when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the private detective Sherlock Holmes. In the Sherlock Marlowe puts together the career of a woman called Holmes stories and those of writers like Agatha Christie Mildred Haviland. She was once married to Degarmo, was who followed Conan Doyle’s example, the attraction lies Dr Almore’s nurse when his wife died, and later married in the unusual characters of the amateur detectives who Bill Chess and changed her name. Was she really ‘the lady resolve the crimes, which are presented rather like in the lake’? puzzles. As a result such stories were given the name of When Marlowe sees a woman leaving Lavery’s house ‘Who dunnits?’ and finds him dead, he begins to doubt it. And when he Chandler, however, found these stories unrealistic. He has to take money to Kingsley’s wife and the same set out to create a new kind of mystery novel, where the woman appears, he guesses what happened. But so has crimes are committed by ‘the kind of people who commit someone else who can’t afford to let the truth come out! them in real life’ and use guns, not unusual poisons, and Before he can solve the mystery, Marlowe himself is in where they are solved by professionals like Marlowe. In danger. these novels, it is not especially important who committed the crimes; indeed, they are not always the work of the ABOUT RAYMOND CHANDLER same person. What matters is how the characters react to each other and how Marlowe eventually pieces the truth Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago in 1888, the son together in spite of threats to his own safety caused by of an American father and Anglo-Irish mother, but came to dishonest policemen and by the criminals themselves. England after their divorce and grew up in London. He worked as a civil servant and wrote book reviews and It was much easier to find a realistic background for a poetry before emigrating to California in 1912. After murder mystery in Los Angeles in the 1930s and 1940s service with the Canadian forces in the First World War, he than in England at that time. In Los Angeles, guns were returned to America, fell in love with a married woman, easily obtainable, and as a result of the laws against Cissie Pascal, and married her after her divorce in 1924. alcohol (the Prohibition laws) passed in 1920s, gangsters He became a successful businessman with an oil had taken over such activities. When the laws against company, but was sacked in 1932. It was only then, when alcohol were ended, gangsters moved into drugs. A he was out of work, that he started to write detective crooked doctor like Dr Almore in The Lady in the Lake, stories for Black Mask magazine. Out of these grew his supplying drugs to the rich, is a typical product of this first novel, The Big Sleep, published in 1939, which culture, as are spoilt rich women like Mrs Kingsley. It was introduced the character of Philip Marlowe. an atmosphere where the police were also likely to be corrupt. Degarmo in this novel is one of a number in Chandler’s work who think nothing of covering up crimes © Pearson Education 2000 level Penguin Readers Factsheets 2 Teacher’s notes and beating up citizens who get in their way (such as Chapters 3-5 Marlowe, for example). 1 Put students into groups of four. Each group writes three questions that they would like to ask each of the The Lady in the Lake is told, like all the Marlowe novels, following people: Mrs Kingsley, Dr Almore, Mildred in the first person, which enables us to identify with the Haviland, Detective Degarmo. Students in one group hero. As he gradually uncovers layers of corruption and as play the four characters and the other group asks their new crimes take place, we follow the course of events at questions. The characters must try to tell the truth. the same speed, ask the same questions as he does and 2 Ask each group to say who they think is the lady in the like him, are forced to change our minds until we reach the lake and who killed her; who killed Mrs Almore; and same conclusions and solve the mystery. When the who killed Lavery. But do not tell them if they are right Hollywood actor Robert Montgomery made a film of The or wrong! Lady in the Lake in 1947 with himself as Marlowe, he Chapters 6-8 carried this idea so far that he made the camera follow Put students into groups of four. Say they are going to Marlowe’s eyes so he was only seen in a mirror. Chandler make a film of The Lady in the Lake. Ask them to talk described the film as ‘a cheap Hollywood trick’. No doubt about this question: Which actors will play the parts of Marlowe, Degarmo, Jim Patton and Mildred Haviland? Chandler was annoyed because he had written better screenplays himself and Marlowe represented his own ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK values and attitude to life. Ask students to look up clue and connect in their Marlowe is still the most famous ‘private eye’, more dictionaries. Ask them if they guessed the ending of the interesting than any of the many imitations. He is honest, book. Then ask them to work in pairs to find clues in the story: loyal, brave and single-minded in his pursuit of the truth. But we can identify with him and find him attractive (a) for the idea that Mrs Kingsley, not Mildred Haviland, because he is not a saint. He likes a drink, and pretty girls, was the lady in the lake; and above all, very important since he is telling his own (b) to connect Degarmo with the murder of Mrs Almore story, he has a sense of humour, often directed at himself. and of Mildred. Communicative activities Glossary The following teacher-led activities cover the same It will be useful for your students to know the following new words. sections of text as the exercises at the back of the reader, They are practised in the ‘Before You Read’ sections of exercises at the back of the book. (Definitions are based on those in the Longman and supplement those exercises. Further supplementary Active Study Dictionary.) exercises, covering shorter sections of the book, can be found on the photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of Chapters 1-2 this Factsheet. These are primarily for use with class body (n) all of a person readers, but with the exception of pair/groupwork lady (n) a woman questions, can also be used by students working alone in lake (n) a large area of water lit (past tense of light) (v) to make something burn a self-access centre. murder (v) to kill somebody THE LADY IN LAKE private detective (n) people pay this detective money for their work ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK suicide (n) this is when somebody doesn’t want to live and ends their Put students into pairs and tell them to look at the life pictures in the first four chapters of the book. One student trouble (n) difficulty chooses a picture and tells the other student what is in it. whisky (n) a strong drink The other student finds the picture in the book. The Chapters 3-5 second student then finds another picture and tells the cover up (v) not to tell people about something first student about it, which he/she has to find. drug (n) people take this to change the way they feel nurse (n) this person helps doctors in their work Ask students to look up guess in their dictionaries. Tell the shoot (v) to kill somebody with a gun pairs that two of the people in these pictures kill other Chapters 6-8 people in the story. Then ask them to guess which they pretend (v) to say that you are somebody or something when you are are and to write down their guesses. not scarf (n) people wear this round their neck (the part of the body ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION below the head) to keep them warm throat (n) the front of somebody’s neck (the part of the body below Chapters 1-2 the head) Ask students to work in pairs.