“I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble.”
― Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon
2026 sees classic books and movies from the dawn of the 1930s enter the public domain. January 1, 2026 signaled the copyright expiration of works published in 1930, meaning these classics can now be copied or reinterpreted by the public without fear of lawsuits. Perhaps the most anticipated book new to the public domain is Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, opens a new window, a classic detective tale further etched into the cultural memory by its legendary film adaptation, opens a new window. But how much do you know about its author? This article is a look at Dashiell Hammett’s most famous work--and also his short but brilliant writing career. Learn about his adventures working for the Pinkertons, writing stories for pulp magazines, and writing classic novels such as Red Harvest, opens a new window and The Thin Man, opens a new window. Stop by a library branch, opens a new window (or download eBooks and eAudio, opens a new window from hoopla, opens a new window) to check out all of Dashiell Hammett’s works, opens a new window!
Before the Pulp Magazines
Dashiell Hammett did not originally set out to be an author. Born in Maryland, he attended the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, opens a new window but dropped out during his first year of high school. Most of his early adult life was spent working for the Pinkerton Agency, opens a new window as one of their operatives. The Pinkerton operatives worked as both private investigators and as security for business interests. The Pinkerton Agency was heavily associated with union-busting, opens a new window activities from the late 19th century onwards, some of which Hammett may have been involved with during his time with the organization. Hammett worked out of Continental Trust Building, opens a new window (now One Calvert Plaza) in Baltimore, Maryland during his time with Pinkerton.
Hammett left the Pinkertons in 1918 and enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I, but his service lasted less than a year. He quickly contracted tuberculosis, opens a new window and spent most of his time in a hospital, where he met his future wife, Josephine Dolan. After the war, he returned to Pinkerton, but became increasingly disillusioned by the agency’s work in strike-busting. He left Pinkerton for good in 1922, but not before the cases he worked on had given him a wealth of material for detective stories.
Gumshoe Classics
Hammett started publishing short stories, opens a new window a few months after leaving Pinkerton in 1922. His earliest stories were barely a paragraph, opens a new window long and read more like sketches than fully developed stories. By 1923, he had created his first marketable character, the Continental Op, opens a new window. There was a striking contrast between the character of the Op and the dashing heroes common in pulp literature of the 1920s. The Op had neither physical superiority nor good looks on his side; he was a short, somewhat overweight man in early middle age. Nor was he a genius, like Poe’s Dupin or Conan Doyle’s Holmes; he lacked their incredible creativity and obsessive fascination with criminal cases. What he did have is ruthless determination to solve the case and give his employers their money’s worth from him. The Op was willing to look deep into the criminal underworld, call in help from his agency, and punch his client’s boyfriend in the face if it would lead to solving the crime.
Most of the Op’s adventures were published in the Black Mask, opens a new window pulp magazine. The Op first appeared in the story “Arson Plus,” published in Black Mask in October 1923. With fistfights, stakeouts, and tough interrogations, “Arson Plus” may not have been the very first, opens a new window hard-boiled detective story, but it quickly made the Op a popular figure and set a new standard for quality in crime fiction.
Writing the Op stories was not Hammett’s only involvement with the literary world. In late 1926, Hammett began a side career as a literary critic working for the Saturday Review of Literature, opens a new window. Hammett tended to be critical of the writing quality of many of his rival gumshoe writers, finding their stories inaccurate in depicting police departments and suffering from a lack of research. After three years of working at the Saturday Review, he moved to the New York Evening Post., opens a new window There, he published a column called “Crime Wave,” where he reviewed mystery novels and short stories. Hammett eventually lost interest in cataloging the errors and inaccuracies of other writers and left his job as a critic behind in October 1930.
As he soured on literary criticism, Hammett’s ambitions as an author grew. By the beginning of 1928, he already had over a dozen Continental Op stories under his belt and put his efforts into publishing longer works with the character. He began to publish Op stories that were serialized to be compiled into novels. In 1929, he published Red Harvest, opens a new window, a tale inspired by the labor disputes of his Pinkerton days. A story of gangsters, labor disputes, and corruption in a small Montana mining town, Red Harvest established the template for how Hammett’s novels would be published. They would typically first appear as serial installments in Black Mask, then be republished in novel format roughly a year later. Hammett’s other Continental Op novel, The Dain Curse;, opens a new window The Glass Key;, opens a new window and The Maltese Falcon, opens a new window would all appear as Black Mask serials before novelization. The Library's hoopla streaming service has Red Harvest,, opens a new window The Dain Curse,, opens a new window and The Maltese Falcon, opens a new window both as eBooks and on eAudio and The Glass Key, opens a new window on eAudio available to check out.
“You always have, I must say, a smooth explanation ready."
"What do you want me to do? Learn to stutter?”
― The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon marked another new chapter in Hammett’s writing career. No longer was his main character the Continental Op, the anonymous everyman who remained obscure to the reader even as he was driven to solve the case. In his place was Sam Spade, a detective who became more personally involved in the case than the business-driven Op. Spade was a cynical, opens a new window and hard man, and his reactions to those around him were driven by a strong sense of distrust in everyone around him. Unlike the Op before him, Spade was handsome and physically strong, but his greatest skill was his intelligence. He was brilliant at detecting lies…and manipulating liars into doing what he wanted. Despite the fact that Hammett wrote only five Spade stories (The Maltese Falcon and four, opens a new window short stories), Sam Spade remains the character most associated with him. Crime fiction writer Max Allan Collins has published a sequel, opens a new window, Return of the Maltese Falcon, as the original book's copyright has expired.
Enter "The Thin Man"
The Maltese Falcon, opens a new window was adapted for film four times, although the only version most people remember is the 1941 Bogart version. But Sam Spade was not Hammett’s only contribution to the Golden Age of Hollywood. In 1930, opens a new window, Hammett had begun work on another hard-boiled detective novel similar to the Op and Spade stories. Titled “The Thin Man,” the draft told the story of John Guild, a hard-nosed private detective on the trail of a scientist who murdered his secretary. Hammett lost interest in this version of this story, but returned to work on it three years later after the success of The Maltese Falcon. Hammett was not only much wealthier by this point; he was also in a relationship with Lillian Hellman, opens a new window, a gifted playwright and screenwriter.
When Hammett first met Hellman, she was working as a reviewer, opens a new window of books for MGM, writing short summaries of them for evaluation by the studio. Hammett encouraged her to seriously pursue a career as a playwright, inspiring her to work on her acclaimed play The Children’s Hour, opens a new window. Hellman’s sophisticated and witty personality inspired Hammett to change the Thin Man story. The tough private eye main character was replaced with a married pair of urban sophisticates, Nick and Nora Charles; and the California setting was changed to New York. The Thin Man, opens a new window was first published as a novel in 1934 and quickly attracted the attention of Hollywood. It is available on eAudio in the Library's hoopla, opens a new window streaming collection. MGM quickly paid for the film rights and rushed out a movie, opens a new window featuring William Powell as Nick and Myrna Loy as Nora the same year the book was published. The Thin Man, opens a new window film series, opens a new window became one of MGM’s most popular attractions, inspiring five sequels and running until 1947. The films were beloved by Baby Boomers and older generations long after their theatrical runs, often airing on TV stations in mystery movie blocks and on afternoons. The chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy was beloved by audiences, as was their dog, Asta, opens a new window.
Fade Into Night
“He felt like somebody had taken the lid off life and let him see the works.”
― The Maltese Falcon
The Thin Man may have been Hammett’s most lucrative novel, but it also marked the end of his writing career. He never published another novel afterwards, although he did write the plots of After the Thin Man, opens a new window and Another Thin Man, opens a new window. By the fourth film in the series, Shadow of the Thin Man, opens a new window, Hammett’s involvement with plotting the films was over. Hammett’s works remained popular through the 1940s, and he even became involved in a legal dispute, opens a new window with Warner Bros. over ownership of the Sam Spade character.
But his popularity declined greatly in the early 1950s due to his investigation, opens a new window in 1953 by the House Un-American Activities Committee over alleged involvement with the Communist Party. Hammett was not convicted or sentenced as a result, but the taint of the investigation was enough to get him rejected, opens a new window by Hollywood. The days of lucrative contracts for film, radio, and television adaptations of his crime stories were over, and he lived out the remainder of his life isolated from everyone but Lillian Hellman. His tuberculosis grew more and more painful until he finally died on January 10, 1961. For his military service in both World Wars, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, opens a new window.
It was through the films based on his stories that Hammett’s influence survived. The Thin Man and its sequels remained popular on TV broadcasts for years, even after Hammett was blacklisted. The Maltese Falcon is still a beloved classic, and critical appreciation of it only deepened over the decades. In 1989, it became one of the first 25 films, opens a new window to be preserved by the Library of Congress. As memory of the 1950s faded, Hammett’s other books began to regain their popularity. 1978 saw the release of a TV miniseries adaptation of The Dain Curse, opens a new window, although the Op was turned into a much more handsome man played by James Coburn for the screen. Many of Hammett’s works were republished in the early 21st century, and literary critics continued to elevate his reputation as an author.
A Future in Public Domain
From this year onwards, any one can publish, rewrite, or adapt The Maltese Falcon as they like. What new tales of Sam Spade will arise from the minds of writers in coming years? Maybe you’ll be the one to write them. Whether you’re in need of inspiration or entertainment, visit your library to read or view, opens a new window Hammett’s work and find dozens of titles as eBooks and eAudiobooks, opens a new window in CRRL's hoopla, opens a new window collection.
