Obituary: Robert B. Parker/Author of 'Spenser' crime novels
Share with others:
As a college student, Robert B. Parker wrote a dissertation on the detective novels of Raymond Chandler. Later, he left his English professor's job to follow in Chandler's footsteps, outstripping his model in output and sales.
The author of more than 50 crime titles died suddenly at his home in Cambridge, Mass., Monday. He was 77.
"He basically breathed new life into that Chandler genre of the hardboiled private investigator with his 'Spenser" books," Richard Goldman, co-owner of Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, said yesterday.
"It was the most natural thing for him to bring back the glory days of the Chandler hero because he knew him so well," Mr. Goldman added. "He took the character of Philip Marlowe and brought him up to date with his Spenser character. Parker spelled it with an 's' like the English poet."
Mr. Parker launched his Spenser series in 1971, writing 37 novels about the Boston-based private eye. The last one, "The Professional," was published in October. The books also spawned a long-running TV series, "Spenser: For Hire."
"He was a terrifically prolific and inventive writer with a humorous style that always held up," Mr. Goldman said. "His dialogue set a new standard for wit and humor."
While Mr. Parker branched out with three other crime novel lines -- Jesse Stone, a New England police chief, Sonny Randle, called a "female Spenser," and a quartet of Western mysteries starting with "Appaloosa" -- all of his writing had echoes of Spenser's hard-edged qualities.
A new Stone novel, "Split Image," will appear next month, and the fourth Western, "Blue-Eyed Devil," will be released in May. More titles, including some Spenser novels, are "in the pipeline," said Mr. Parker's editor, Chris Pepe of G.P. Putnam Sons.
The Stone series and "Appaloosa" were also sources for TV and film versions.
Ironically, Mr. Parker's least-successful fiction work was his attempt to finish Chandler's uncompleted Marlowe novel, "Poodle Springs," in 1991. Despite his reputation as the creator of tough, honest heroes, the book lacked Chandler's stubborn cynicism and world weariness.
On the other hand, Spenser's hard exterior masked generous and warm feelings for his longtime companion, Susan Silverman, and sidekick, Hawk.
"The character of the buddy who is willing to go outside the law like Hawk has become a standard for sidekicks in today's crime novels," Mr. Goldman said. He cited Walter Mosley's Mouse, a hardcore killer and accomplice for his hero, Easy Rawlins, as one of many examples.
Helen Bran, Mr. Parker's agent, told the Boston Globe that his wife, Joan, found him dead at his writing desk in their Cambridge home Monday morning. He is also survived by two sons, David and Daniel.
First Published January 20, 2010 3:04 am
