Philip Marlowe book 1 · 1939
The Big Sleep
General Sternwood, an old and dying millionaire, hires Philip Marlowe to deal with a man blackmailing his wild younger daughter, Carmen. The case draws Marlowe into a web of pornography, gambling and murder around the Sternwood family.
Spoiler-free summary written for The Recurring Cast.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Book facts
- Author
- Raymond Chandler
- Series
- Philip Marlowe, book 1 of 7
- Published
- 1939
- Setting
- Set in Los Angeles
- Characters charted
- 4
- Chart confidence
- High
Who is in The Big Sleep
4 recurring or key characters from Raymond Chandler’s chart. Introduces Philip Marlowe, Bernie Ohls, Carmen Sternwood and Vivian Regan.
Lead 1
- Philip MarloweFirst appearanceLos Angeles private investigator
Major 3
- Bernie OhlsFirst appearanceDistrict attorney’s investigator and Marlowe’s contact
- Carmen SternwoodFirst appearanceGeneral Sternwood’s wild younger daughter
- Vivian ReganFirst appearanceGeneral Sternwood’s elder daughter
Also featuring these characters
Other Raymond Chandler books that share the most characters with The Big Sleep.
- The Long Goodbye1953 · Philip Marlowe · 2 shared charactersBuy on Amazon