Philip Marlowe

Pipe Smoking in Fiction

While pipe smoking is not what it used to be, as is smoking tobacco in general, fictional pipe smokers (and their creators) abound.

There’s something about a pipe that conveys an image cigarettes, cigars, and not smoking simply doesn’t.

The Pipe Smoker

The pipe smoker is seen as a thinking man. A man of intelligence (Einstein was a pipe smoker). The pipe smoking man is not a rush about. His approach to problem solving is more measured and thought out.

Compared to the cigar and cigarette smoker, and also the non-smoker, the pipe smoker exudes the best qualities of a man.

The greatest generation were in large part pipe smokers. Back when I was a kid, there were an estimated 30 million pipe smokers. Today that number has dwindled to 3 million. And men are in a crisis, being assaulted left and right by extreme feminism. Maybe men should man up and go back to pipe smoking. It is a thought.

Fictional Pipe Smokers

But on to fictional pipe smokers and their creators, which is the subject of today’s post.

Sherlock Holmes

Probably the most iconic of fictional pipe smokers is Sherlock Holmes. He was an inveterate pipe smoker. The Persian slipper filled with his shag cut tobacco. The dottle he collected to be smoked first thing in the morning (I have to say here, yuck!). And of course, the famous three–pipe problem (nicotine stimulates thinking).

Philip Marlowe smoked a pipe, as did his creator Raymond Chandler. And Marlowe is one of the most iconic of hardboiled detectives. He was also a rather introspective man. Something that is part and parcel of being a pipe smoker.

Hobbits

Hobbits are known for their love of pipeweed, as well as their creator J.R.R. Tolkien. And did you ever notice that Tolkien’s world is largely a man’s world? Pipe smoking and the war against evil. Must be a man thing.

Huck Finn

Mark Twain loved smoking. For him, the pipe and the cigar were symbols of rebellion against the constraints of an oppressive and unfair society. Huck Finn is an iconoclast; and through him, Twain attacks the social conventions and repression of his day. And Huck Finn smoked a pipe.

My Fictional Pipe Smokers

In my own writing, most of my main characters smoke a pipe. Why? Because a man who smokes a pipe is a thinking man. A man who approaches life calmly and rationally.

A pipe smoker is a meditative man. A man who contemplates and ponders the deep things of life.

Bill Arthur

Bill Arthur is such a man. He is the main character in my post-apocalyptic series The Rocheport Saga.

Bill’s main goal is to use the knowledge we already have to prevent humanity from slipping back into the dark ages. He is an armchair philosopher, who reluctantly becomes a leader.

Early on, Bill smokes Briggs Pipe Mixture: “When a feller needs a friend.” Because being the leader is often a lonely job. A pipe can however bring solace to a troubled soul. A pipe is sometimes a man’s best friend.

Harry Wright

Justinia Wright may smoke cigars at a rate to rival Sir Winston Churchill’s daily consumption, but her brother Harry is an occasional pipe smoker. He may not be the brains behind the detective agency, but he is the one who keeps it running.

Harry Thurgood

Harry Thurgood, the coffee shop owner in Magnolia Bluff, Texas, smokes a pipe. And I believe he’s the only smoker amongst the main characters in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series.

He is a man with a secret life that he wants to keep a secret. But he’s also a man who enjoys the finer things in life. And the pipe can make a man look very distinguished.

Dr. Rafe Bardon

Pierce Mostyn doesn’t smoke. But his boss, Dr. Rafe Bardon is a pipe smoker. Bardon is the general behind the lines directing the troops who will save the world from Cthulhu and his ilk.

For Myself

For myself, the creator of fictional heroes and heroines, I enjoy my pipe. Sitting out in the garage, with a mug of tea and my pipe, I contemplate life and spin yarns in my head. Sometimes, though, I just do nothing. After all, when one has the two best leaves on the planet, tea and tobacco, what more does one want? That is pure contentment.

The Brotherhood of the Pipe

The Brotherhood of the Pipe, both in fiction and the real world, is still alive and well.

In my writing, as in Twain’s, pipe smoking is part of my rebellion against those elements of our government and our society that would squash our liberty because they think they know what’s best for us.

Huck Finn thumbed his nose at all the do-gooders who would cheat us and take away our freedom.

Huck smoked corn cob pipe. And I do, too.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes

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Ten Favorite Fictional Characters

Just like real people, we have our favorite fictional people. Characters that resonate with us, just like real people do.

So I thought I’d share with you ten of my favorite fictional characters that are not of my own creation.

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin

I was introduced to Rex Stout’s detective team in the summer of 1980. I fell in love with Wolfe and Archie immediately. There are few books that I reread. The Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin mysteries are among those that I do.

My own Justinia and Harry Wright mysteries were inspired by Stout’s characters.

Wolfe and Archie are the timeless dynamic duo.

DCI Tom Barnaby and DS Gavin Troy

Like Wolfe and Goodwin, what makes DCI Tom Barnaby and DS Gavin Troy of Midsomer Murders exceptional is the relationship and repartee between the two.

There are certain pairings that just work. The chemistry between the characters makes us laugh or cry. We see them as real. And that’s how it is with Barnaby and Troy. They are real.

**Alan Snyder (TV series Colony)**

In my opinion, Alan Snyder is the consummate “bad guy”. And it is not so much that he is bad, as that he is completely and totally focused on promoting Alan Snyder.

He does some good things. He does a lot of bad things. But mostly he does what will benefit himself. Regardless of the outcome for others.

If you haven’t seen Colony, give it a watch. The show only lasted three seasons. But I think it is a great SF alien apocalypse story. Unfortunately, the acting is only so-so, save for Snyder’s character. But the show is totally worth watching. A fabulous story and a great bad guy.

Solomon Kane

Robert E Howard’s 16th and 17th century. Puritan adventurer is a masterful creation.

Kane is a Christian Puritan, but isn’t overly religious. Although he does have his own very strong moral code.

He is a wanderer. He is the consummate knight errant.

In many ways, he combines the action of Conan with the introspection of Kull.

And although Conan is far more popular, I think Solomon Kane is the superior character.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson

Holmes and Watson. I first met them sometime during my elementary school years. Sixty or more years ago. And I still find the duo interesting enough to make my favorite list.

The inimitable Holmes and the faithful Watson. Their world is a man’s world. So much so, that every modern re-creation infuses women into the story and gives them a place that Holmes and Watson would never have wanted. They were two men very much at ease with each other. Comrades. And in my opinion, that’s what makes the stories work and makes them so memorable.

**Rona (Church Mouse)**

RH Hale’s Church Mouse is a towering modern gothic novel of incredible power.

It is the story of Rona, who becomes a servant to vampires.

In some ways, Church Mouse is one long character study. But what an exciting and terrifying study it is.

If you haven’t read Church Mouse, you really need to do so. Even if you don’t like vampires, you’ll love Rona.

Church Mouse on Amazon.

**Peter (Don’t Dream It’s Over)**

Matthew Cormack’s Don’t Dream It’s Over is one of the great novels you’ve probably never heard of. Like Church Mouse above.

Also like Church Mouse, Don’t Dream It’s Over is a very long and fascinating character study.

The world as we know it has come to an end. But Peter survived. From his pen we learn what the new world is like. What hopes and dreams remain. And we learn about Peter himself. He is the unlikely hero. The person all of us would like to be.

Even if you don’t like post-apocalyptic novels, you have to read Don’t Dream It’s Over. It truly is a great novel.

Don’t Dream It’s Over on Amazon.

Doc Bannister and Eudora Durant

Caleb Pirtle’s series The Boomtown Saga is a magnificent historical novel series. It is literary mystery at its finest.

The books revolve around the intertwining stories of con-artist Doc Bannister and widow Eudora Durant.

These are two of the finest characters I’ve ever met. They are real people who come alive when you open the book. So real in fact, that I may have fallen in love with Eudora.

The Boomtown Saga will transport you back in time and introduce you to two of the most intriguing people you will ever meet. Real or otherwise.

The Boomtown Saga on Amazon.

Philip Marlowe

I came to Raymond Chandler’s fiction late in life. And I’m glad I did. I’m able to much better appreciate his picturesque prose, Chandlerisms, and the introspection and observations of PI Philip Marlowe.

In many ways, Marlowe is larger than life. And that is okay. It’s his keen observations about life, his feelings for or against people, that make him such an intriguing character.

Dracula

Almost all contemporary vampires are actually spinoffs of the silent film Nosferatu. And when compared to Stoker’s Dracula are very limited creatures.

Bram Stoker’s vampire is a creature of immense paranormal power.

He can walk about in daylight, although his power is diminished.

He can shapeshift to a variety of creatures and can even assume the shape of fog.

He can change his appearance.

His power of mental telepathy and control of people from afar is phenomenal.

His strength is supernatural.

Dracula is a predator of almost unlimited power and abilities and that makes him a true force to be reckoned with.

He is the perfect bad guy because he’s almost indestructible.

And maybe that’s why modern film, TV, and fiction opt to cast their vampires in the form of Nosferatu instead of Stoker’s Dracula.

Dracula, though, is truly better. He’s much more terrifying.

Those are ten of my favorite fictional characters. Drop your 10 in the comments section below.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on favorite Amazon!

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A Matter of Style

My whole career is based on the idea that the formula doesn’t matter, the thing that counts is what you do with the formula; that is to say, it is a matter of style. —Raymond Chandler

I’d seen Raymond Chandler’s name, and that of his most noted creation, Philip Marlowe, around for decades before, I actually read anything from Chandler’s pen.

All I can say is that I’m glad I made Mr. Chandler’s acquaintance.

The first story I read was Chandler’s first published story, “Blackmailer’s Don’t Shoot”, back in February 2018. However, over a year passed before I picked up another Chandler story. That story was “Killer in the Rain”, which I read this past Christmas Day. I followed it up with “The Curtain” on the third of January of this year, and six days later finished The Big Sleep, which is a fix-up novel put together from “Killer” and “Curtain”.

What captured my attention and stirred my interest in Chandler is his style. Quite simply put: it is beautiful. Almost poetic, it is perhaps the most lyrical prose I’ve read. Murder mysteries elevated to the level of literary fiction.

And this is directly related to Chandler’s approach to the art of storytelling. He wasn’t overly interested in the plot. Chandler strove to give the reader interesting characters with believable behaviors, and an emotively moving atmosphere.

What HP Lovecraft emphasized as most important for supernatural horror, the atmosphere of the story, Raymond Chandler also emphasized for the murder mystery. Characters and atmosphere — not plot — carry the day.

Erle Stanley Gardner wrote that the problem with the murder mystery was the utter simplicity of the plot.

A murders B, but the police think it’s C, until the detective gets C off the hook, and pins the deed on A.

The simplicity of the murder mystery plot is undoubtedly what drove Chandler to emphasize characterization and atmosphere over plot.

When I read Chandler, I’m caught up in the mood of the story that the atmosphere produces. I’m caught up in the dilemmas of the very lifelike characters. I’m sucked into the story by the descriptions of the people and places.

Raymond Chandler was an artist using words instead of paint and brush.

As a writer, I am inspired by what he did with the written word. Chandler showed writers and continues to show writers that the most formulaic of genres can be turned into glorious art. That we writers can transcend the confines of our genres and produce not only entertainment, but timeless literature.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading (and great writing)!

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