The Canon Library
Cover of The Maltese Falcon

Modern · Crime fiction

The Maltese Falcon

by Dashiell Hammett. A canonical or canon-adjacent work by Dashiell Hammett examining corruption, detection, modern city; included to broaden the catalog’s historical, literary, or intellectual coverage.

Date
1930
Origin
United States
Era
Modern
Genre
Crime fiction
Difficulty
Moderate
Length
Medium
Collection
The Western Canon

Subjects and themes

Why it matters

A canonical or canon-adjacent work by Dashiell Hammett examining corruption, detection, modern city; included to broaden the catalog’s historical, literary, or intellectual coverage.

This work is included in the collection on the basis of expanded synthesis: bloom / great books / modern library / revised canon. Its cataloged influence level is 4 out of 5.