The characters of George V Higgins (1939-99) make private eyes like Philip Marlowe look soft. Dubbed “the man with the golden ear”, Higgins’ novels influenced modern crime writers like James Ellroy, Elmore Leonard, and Dennis Lehane, plus the films of Quentin Tarantino. Where did Higgins’ pitch perfect dialogue and unvarnished realism come from?
On 5th May Richard Taylor of Bath Spa University will be giving a talk at the Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution that will examine Higgins’ career as a journalist and then Federal Prosecutor, featuring a real-life cast of bent cops, corrupt politicians, and the rise of notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger.
The talk will be live streamed on Zoom. For More details and to register go to www.brlsi.org/whatson/george-v-higgins-the-american-crime-novel/
