Hammett's continental op - tough, tired, intelligent, a snap-brimmed Sir Galahad with a Browning - was the prototype for a whole new tradition of private eye thrillers.
Here are ten of his classic suspense stories from the twenties and thirties - selected and introduced by Lillian Hellman.

The Gutting of Couffignal (35p)
Fly Paper (36p)
The Scorched Face (41p)
This King Business (56p)
The Gatewood Caper (18p)
Dead Yellow Women (58p)
Corkscrew (54p)
Tulip (48p)
The Big Knockover (57p)
$106,000 Blood Money (?)