The Maltese Falcon — Richard Layman

Literary Masters, Literary Masterpieces, and Literary Topics are the three components of Gale's Study Guides to Great Literature. These guides are appropriate for high school readers and, perhaps, somewhat older students who need somewhere to start. The Literary Masterpieces volumes follow a format that includes discussion of the author; basic facts of the publication, plot, and characters; the writing and revising of the work; analysis of themes and literary context; critical response; adaptations; and resources for further study. Each volume contains the same brief introduction by George Garrett (creative writing, U. of Virginia); the credentials of the author are not cited. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)