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The Long Goodbye

S U M M A R Y

he Long Goodbye, published in 1953, is the last
but one of Raymond Chandler’s seven novels

featuring the legendary private detective Philip Marlowe.

Marlowe gets into trouble through his friendship with

Terry Lennox, whose wife, Sylvia, is the daughter of
multimillionaire newspaper publisher Harlan Potter. He
helps Lennox escape across the border to Mexico as
Lennox is suspected of having murdered Sylvia. The case
seems closed when Lennox is reported dead, having
signed a confession and committed suicide, but Marlowe
does not believe he was guilty and continues to
investigate despite being threatened by the police,
Lennox’s gangster friends and Potter.

Meanwhile, Marlowe has been hired to trace a missing

alcoholic best-selling writer, Roger Wade, and having
found him, becomes involved in the Wades’ life and
marriage. Wade had been one of Sylvia Lennox’s lovers
and is afraid he may have killed her while drunk. When
Wade in turn is found dead, Mrs Wade accuses Marlowe
of murder. But the police accept a verdict of suicide,
though Marlowe’s old friend, Bernie Ohls, suspects Mrs
Wade.

The truth lies in the past. Was there a connection

between Mrs Wade and Terry Lennox? And is Terry really
as dead as everyone seems to believe?

Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago in the USA in
1888, the son of an American father and Anglo-Irish
mother, but after their divorce he came to England and
grew up in London. He worked as a civil servant and
wrote book reviews and poetry before emigrating to
California in the USA in 1912. After service with the
Canadian forces in the First World War (1914–18), he
returned to America and married Cissie Pascal, who was
many years older than he was. He became a successful
businessman with an oil company but was sacked in
1932.

While Chandler was out of work, he started to write

detective stories for a magazine. This led to the
publication of his first novel, The Big Sleep, in 1939. The
Big Sleep introduced the character of Philip Marlowe. As

C h a n d l e r’s reputation grew he wrote successful
screenplays in Hollywood and the film of The Big Sleep
made him famous.

The Long Goodbye, Chandler’s crowning achievement,

was written under extreme stress as he became
increasingly dependent on alcohol and was nursing his
wife in her last illness. Before he died in 1959, however, he
was recognized on both sides of the Atlantic as the
outstanding writer of detective stories of his generation.

During the 1930s and 1940s Raymond Chandler
transformed the detective story into a serious art form.
Most previous detective stories were like a kind of puzzle,
featuring an amateur detective proud of his powers of
deduction in solving crimes, but in Chandler’s novels, the
crimes are much more realistic and are solved by
professionals like the famous ‘private eye’ he himself
created, Philip Marlowe.

Chandler lived in Los Angeles and drew on this

background to create the atmosphere of his novels. In this
society, the rich and famous often lived lives constantly
t h reatened by scandal and characters from the
underworld. This was because the rich and famous often
had very humble pasts, and were afraid that the gangsters
would expose this. The gangsters had become rich and
powerful through selling alcohol during the years of the
prohibition (when alcohol was banned in the years after
the First World War) and had afterwards moved into
drugs. In the novels Chandler had written before The Long
Goodbye, he stresses these relationships and also the
effect this had on the law since the police were often
brutal and corrupt.

The Long Goodbye does not begin as usual with a quest

for a missing person – Marlowe is not asked to look for
Roger Wade until Chapter 5 – but with an act of kindness,
when Marlowe rescues the polite drunk, Terry Lennox,
and afterwards takes him to Mexico. The solution to the
mystery in the book lies in relationships formed during the
Second World War (1939–45) and one of the main themes
of the book is comradeship. Marlowe cannot let Lennox
down because he is a friend, and after Lennox’s apparent

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B A C K G R O U N D A N D T H E M E S

by Raymond Chandler

© Pearson Education 2000

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death, he learns that Lennox saved the lives of two
comrades in the war and these men, even though they are
gangsters, believe they owe him a debt and are bound to
help him.

A second main theme in the book is corruption. In this

post-war world it is no longer a simple matter of
policemen taking bribes and beating people up. American
institutions are themselves called into question. Because
law officers are elected, politics enters into everything,
and a newspaper owner like Potter can influence the
course of justice. As Endicott, the lawyer Potter employs,
tells Marlowe (p.17) ‘The law is not justice. It’s just a half-
broken machine’.

Chandler put a lot of himself into this novel. Like Lennox

he had fought courageously in a war (the First World War).
Like Roger Wade, he was struggling to finish a book
despite getting drunk and, like Wade, ‘blacking out’ and
not remembering what he had done. Like Marlowe, his
ideal projection of himself, he felt he was getting old. Most
fictional detectives remain the same age in the same time
or place but Chandler, himself over 60 by now, had made
Marlowe age with the books, so he is now 42. But the
book is as perfectly plotted as any of his earlier stories
and contains a much greater variety of characters and a
brilliant surprise ending.

The following teacher-led activities cover the same
sections of text as the exercises at the back of the reader,
and supplement those exercises. For supplementary
exercises covering shorter sections of the book, see the
photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of this Factsheet.
These are primarily for use with class readers but, with the
exception of discussion and pair/group work questions,
can also be used by students working alone in a self-
access centre.

ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK

Put students into small groups and ask them to discuss
the following:

Have you ever seen a film of one of Raymond Chandler’s
books featuring one of the following actors as Philip
Marlowe: – Humphrey Bogart, James Garner, Elliott
Gould, Robert Mitchum? What did you think of it? Was
the actor believable in the part?

What do you imagine a private detective looks like?

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION

Chapters 1–2

Put students into small groups to discuss this question.

One of the main themes of The Long Goodbye is
friendship. Do you think Marlowe is right to help Ter ry
Lennox without asking any questions?

Chapters 3–4

Put students into groups of three people. Half the groups
are Group As; the other half are Group Bs.

Group As write a list of questions that the journalist,
Morgan, would like to ask the following about the murder
of Sylvia Lennox and the death of Terry Lennox: Harlan
Potter, Sewell Endicott and Sergeant Green.

Group Bs play the parts of Harlan Potter, Sewell Endicott
and Sergeant Green.

Put each Group A with a Group B. Group As take it in
turns to be the journalist. Group Bs answer as truthfully as
possible.

Chapters 5–6

Put students into small groups. Ask them to discuss how
the following people relate to each other. Do they like one
another?
Roger and Eileen Wade; Doctor and Mrs Loring;
Marlowe and Roger Wade; Marlowe and Eileen Wade.
Then, in pairs, students role-play conversations after the
party. They are (a) Roger and Eileen Wade; (b) Dr and Mrs
Loring.

Chapters 7–9

Put students into groups of three people. Name each
group A or B. Put an A group with a B group.

Group As must write down the reasons Bernie Ohls has
for thinking that Roger Wade did not commit suicide, and
a list of questions he would like to ask Marlowe, Eileen
Wade and Candy. Then they take turns to play the part of
Ohls.

Group Bs play the parts of Marlowe, Eileen Wade and
Candy. Marlowe tells the truth, the others must give an
account of what happened to suit themselves.

Chapters 10–12

In the United States, law officers like the Sheriff are
elected democratically by popular vote. Put students into
groups of three or four. Ask them to discuss whether they
think this is a good system. Then ask them to debate the
advantages and disadvantages compared to the more
usual system in other countries.

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK

Ask students to discuss these questions in small groups.
(a) What do you think happened to Terry Lennox

afterwards?

(b) Marlowe is now 42 and has never married. Do you

think he ever will? What sort of wife would suit him?

It will be useful for your students to know the following new words.
They are practised in the ‘Before You Read’sections of exercises at
the back of the book. (Definitions are based on those in the Longman
Active Study Dictionary.)

Chapters 1–2
bill (n) a piece of paper money
cop (n) a policeman (informal)
gin and lime (n) gin is a strong alcoholic drink; lime is a green fruit
similar to a lemon
millionaire (n) a very rich person (with a million dollars or pounds)
pal (n) a friend (informal)

Chapters 7–9
soda (n) water with bubbles, which people drink with alcohol or fruit
juice
suicide (n) when someone kills himself or herself deliberately

C o m m u n i c a t i v e a c t i v i t i e s

G l o s s a r y

T e a c h e r’s n o t e s

P u b l i s h e d a n d d i s t r i b u t e d b y P e a r s o n E d u c a t i o n

F a c t s h e e t w r i t t e n b y W S F o w l e r

F a c t s h e e t s e r i e s d e v e l o p e d b y L o u i s e J a m e s

© Pearson Education 2000

P e n g u i n R e a d e r s F a c t s h e e t s

Read the introduction at the front of the book. Then
answer the following questions:

(a) Why does Marlowe take pity on Terry Lennox and

help him when he is trouble?

(b) Why are the police likely to believe a man has killed

his wife? What are the most likely motives?

(c) What are they likely to think when they find Marlowe

has helped him?

CHAPTERS 1–2

Chapter 1

1 Answer these questions.

(a) What does Terry Lennox look like? Why would it

be easy to recognise him?

(b) Which of these adjectives describe his

personality: polite, proud, sarcastic, steady,
tough, well-mannered?

(c) Which of these statements are true? Terry

Lennox: (i) was born in England; (ii) once lived in
England; (iii) sounds English.

2 Who says the following lines about which person?

(a)

‘I was married to her once.’

(b) ‘He’s part gangster but they all are.’

(c) ‘I don’t know that you are a lady.’

(d) ‘I want you out of my hair.’

(e) ‘My pride is different.’

Chapter 2

1 Put the following events in the order in which they

happened.

Lennox
(a) caught a plane to Mexico.

(b) invited Marlowe to go for a drink.

(c) offered Marlowe 500 dollars to drive him to

Tijuana.

(d)

sent Marlowe a cheque for a hundred dollars.

2 Find phrases to justify these statements.

(a) Terry was only Sylvia’s husband in name.

(b) The servants won’t find Sylvia’s body for several

hours.

(c) She is lying dead in the guest house.

(d) She probably used to meet her lovers there.

(e) Lennox didn’t shoot her.

(f)

But he gives Marlowe the idea that he was
responsible for her death.

CHAPTERS 3–4

Chapter 3

1 Answer these questions.

(a) Who seems likely to have sent Endicott the

lawyer to help Marlowe, and why?

(b) Why are the police sure that Silvano Rodriguez

was Lennox in disguise?

2 The case against Terry Lennox is now closed because

he has confessed and is dead. Imagine you are
Marlowe and do not believe what you have been told.
Write two paragraphs saying who you think killed
Sylvia and how Terry died.

Chapter 4

Complete the following sentences.

(a) Marlowe doesn’t think the police will bother him again

because ..........................................

(b) Endicott thinks they might if he

..........................................

(c) Menendez calls Marlowe ‘Cheapie’ because

..........................................

(d) He owed Terry Lennox a debt because Terry

..........................................

(e) He is surprised when Marlowe hits him because

..........................................

(f) Mr Spencer wants Marlowe to help because Roger

Wade ..........................................

CHAPTERS 5–6

Chapter 5

These sentences are false. Correct them.
(a) Mr Spencer thinks Roger Wade drinks too much

because he cannot finish his book.

(b) Only the honest doctors are listed in George Peters’

file.

(c) Peters says a friend of his met a man called Terry

Lennox in New York.

(d) Earl is angry because Wade sees him practising to be

a cowboy.

(e) Roger Wade says he knew Terry Lennox but didn’t

know his wife.

Chapter 6

Match the name with the action.

(a) Marlowe

(i)

went to Victor’s to drink a
gin and lime.

(b) Big Willy Magoon

(ii)

was going to slap his wife.

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The Long Goodbye

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Photocopiable

These activities can be done alone or with one or more
other students. Pair/group-only activities are marked.

Activities before reading the book

Activities while reading the book

S t u d e n t ’ s a c t i v i t i e s

© Pearson Education 2000

P e n g u i n R e a d e r s F a c t s h e e t s

(c) Candy

(iii) ordered the same drink as

Marlowe.

(d) Linda Loring

(iv) once loved a man with the

initials P M.

(e) Doctor Loring

(v)

warned Marlowe not to
kiss his wife.

(f) Roger Wade

(vi) knocked a gangster down.

(g) Eileen Wade

(vii) let Marlowe in when he

came to the party.

CHAPTERS 7–9

Chapter 7

Answer these questions.

(a) What does Marlowe mean when he tells Wade: ‘I’d

say the usual’?

(b) What phrase of Wade’s gives us the idea that he has

killed someone?

(c) Who was Wade thinking about when he said ‘A good

man died for me once’?

(d) Why doesn’t Marlowe believe that Wade really tried to

commit suicide?

(e) Why has Wade given Candy too much money?

(f) Who does Eileen Wade think Marlowe is when she

tells him to come into her room?

Chapter 8

1 Harlan Potter has made a hundred million dollars. Is

he how you would imagine him to be? Find phrases
to show that he is frightening but that Marlowe is not
frightened.

2 You are a policeman investigating the death of Roger

Wade. You have interviewed Marlowe, Mrs Wade and
Candy, but you do not know if they told you the truth.
Do you think Wade committed suicide or was there
some other reason for his death? Write a report for
the police.

Chapter 9

1 Answer these questions.

(a) What makes Marlowe doubt whether Wade

committed suicide?

(b) Why is it a piece of luck for Marlowe that Bernie

Ohls is sent to investigate?

(c) Why doesn’t Captain Hernandez believe Candy’s

story?

(d) Why does Bernie Ohls suspect Eileen Wade of

killing her husband?

2 Before Marlowe meets Howard Spencer and they go

to see Eileen Wade, he says ‘I had it all’. What
solution do you think he has reached? Discuss this
with other students.

CHAPTERS 10–12

Chapter 10

Which of these statements are true, which are false?
Correct those that are false.

(a) Eileen Wade met Paul Marston in 1940.

(b) He gave her the badge of the Artists’ Rifles.

(c) Until after the war, she did not know he had been

taken prisoner.

(d) When she saw him again, she was already married to

Wade.

(e) She was angry with him for marrying Sylvia.

(f) She says she was angry with her husband for having

an affair with Sylvia.

(g) Roger Wade killed Sylvia with a stone vase in the

garden.

(h) He was so drunk that he did not remember what had

happened.

Chapter 11

Answer these questions.

(a) Why does Bernie Ohls allow Marlowe to take a copy

of Eileen Wade’s confession?

(b) Why will Marlowe be in danger if the confession is

printed in the newspaper?

(c) Why did Ohls set a trap for Menendez?

(d) When Marlowe talks to Randy Starr, who is the man

‘so big you could get hurt if he sneezed’?

(e) Who does Harlan Potter blame for his daughter’s

death, and why?

Chapter 12

Form a group with two or three other students and
answer these questions.

1 Do you think Marlowe was a good friend to Terry, and

Terry a good friend to him?

2 There is an expression: ‘Honour among thieves’. Do

you think that men like Starr and Menendez are
capable of such loyalty?

3 Do you find Terry Lennox’s explanation of why he

could not tell the police that Eileen Wade killed Sylvia
believable? Is it typical of his character?

In small groups, discuss with other students the following
questions.

1 What do you think of the treatment Marlowe receives

from the police in the course of the novel? Do you
think he deserves it?

2 Do you think rich men like Harlan Potter are right to

use their power to prevent the press from printing
stories about them and their families?

3 Is the newspaper right to print Eileen Wade’s

confession? What do you think of the way the D A
handles this case? Why does he react as he did?
What should he have done?

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F a c t s h e e t w r i t t e n b y W S F o w l e r

F a c t s h e e t s e r i e s d e v e l o p e d b y L o u i s e J a m e s

Activities after reading the book

S t u d e n t ’ s a c t i v i t i e s

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