The Glass Key

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The Glass Key is a novel by Dashiell Hammett, said to be his favorite among his works. It was first published in 1931, and tells the story of gambler and racketeer Ned Beaumont, whose devotion to crooked political boss Paul Madvig leads him to investigate the murder of a local senator's son. The novel was dedicated to onetime lover Nell Martin.

There were several film adaptions made based on the novel. It has been asserted—though never officially corroborated—that the kidnapping and brutal beating of one of the characters in The Glass Key was the inspiration for the similar scenes in Yojimbo (1961) by Akira Kurosawa. (See also Red Harvest.)

[edit] External links

• A summary and brief review is available from Case Western Reserve University's Department of English.