Raoul Whitfield’s Followers (6)

Raoul Whitfield

Born

in New York, The United States

November 22, 1896

Died

January 24, 1945

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers

edit data

Although born in New York, Raoul Fauconnier Whitfield's early life was shaped by his father's transfer to the Philippines where he led the privilege life as the dependent of a Territorial Government bureaucrat. Young Whitfield would later travel through China and Japan where his memory of Asia would prove to serve him well. Back in the States, the teenager aspired to motion pictures, where his rugged good looks graced the silent cinema. If it weren't for America's entry into the Great War in 1917 we might know him as an actor, but Whitfield enlisted in the Army and was initially assigned to the ambulance corps. Desiring action, he sought and won a commission as a pilot and saw duty on the German Front as a combat pilot. After the Armistice, Although born in New York, Raoul Fauconnier Whitfield's early life was shaped by his father's transfer to the Philippines where he led the privilege life as the dependent of a Territorial Government bureaucrat. Young Whitfield would later travel through China and Japan where his memory of Asia would prove to serve him well. Back in the States, the teenager aspired to motion pictures, where his rugged good looks graced the silent cinema. If it weren't for America's entry into the Great War in 1917 we might know him as an actor, but Whitfield enlisted in the Army and was initially assigned to the ambulance corps. Desiring action, he sought and won a commission as a pilot and saw duty on the German Front as a combat pilot. After the Armistice, Whitfield spurned his steel business-based family's desires, married his first wife Prudence and landed a job with the Pittsburgh Post as a reporter. Prudence encouraged his long held desires to write pulp fiction stories. His writing drew upon his childhood travels in the Far East (his 'Jo Gar, Island Detective' character was based in Manila) along with his more recent wartime exploits. He succeeded in selling stories for Boy's Life, War Stories and Battle Stories (under the pseudonym 'Temple Field') - but he's especially notable for his contributions to Black Mask, the creme of the pulps. His 'Crime Buster' Black Mask stories were so popular they were amalgamated into his first novel, Green Ice (published in 1930) earning the praise of none other than the genre master, Dashiell Hammett, with its hard-as-nails emphasis on action. Whitfield had a total of 9 books published during the depths of the Great Depression. The speed in which he ground out work was amazing but it also drew criticism; his lesser stories were spurned as hack work. Whitfield often wrote under the pseudonym, Ramon Dacolta, who ironically proved a heady rival in readership popularity. Many of his 1927-33 stories easily ranks with the best authors of pulp fiction. Whitfield's screen writing career began in earnest after his divorce from Prudence and relocated from Florida to Los Angeles in 1933. He landed a job as a writer for Paramount and on a whirlwind trip to New York City, met and married the wealthy and unstable Emily Davies Vanderbilt Thayer, with emphasis on the Vanderbilt. Life was good for a short period; the couple purchased a large ranch outside Las Vegas, Nevada and Whitfield's writing productivity slowed to a trickle. The Whitfield's marriage was wobbly, masked by partying. Emily experienced bouts of manic depression and the couple separated in early 1935. Her mental state was far more fragile than anyone had imagined, she committed suicide at the Nevada ranch that May. Whitfield was inconsolable over his wife's death and he was utterly destroyed. Contracting TB in his 40s he died at a military hospital in California in 1945. ...more

Combine Editions
Raoul Whitfield’s books

Average rating: 3.84 · 408 ratings · 64 reviews · 33 distinct works • Similar authors

	Green Ice 3.53 avg rating — 76 ratings — published 1930 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Death In A Bowl 3.25 avg rating — 57 ratings — published 1931 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	West of Guam: The Complete Cases of Jo Gar 3.95 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 2013 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Virgin Kills 3.36 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 1932 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jo Gar's Casebook (Tales from the Black Mask Morgue Series) 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2002 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Laughing Death by Raoul Whitfield, Arthur Bowker (Illustrator), James Reasoner (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Man Killer it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Silver Wings really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Inside Job: A Smashing Detective Story liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I pericolosi anni Trenta (Estate gialla '97 - Supergiallo, #10) by Raoul Whitfield, Ellery Queen, Edgar Wallace liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Raoul Whitfield…

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Pulp Fiction: March 2019 - Beast in View	30	50	Jun 15, 2020 11:23AM
SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops...: action music!	15	33	Dec 16, 2021 07:58AM
Fun & Games: A to Z author	4107	515	Dec 31, 2023 05:09AM

More…

Raoul Whitfield’s Followers (6)

Raoul Whitfield

Combine EditionsRaoul Whitfield’s books

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Raoul Whitfield’s books