Ten of the best writers in novels

After author John Niven tagged his top ten writers in novels for the Guardian, a number of readers suggested other candidates for the list, including:

Roger Wade
The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

Chandler's famous detective, Philip Marlowe, gets a call from a New York publisher concerned about one of his best writers, Roger Wade. Described by ProfessionalCynic as a 'lacerating self-portrait', Wade is an alcoholic who, like Chandler, has authored a string of successful novels but finds it increasingly hard to write in older age. Chandler wrote The Long Goodbye as his wife was dying, which goes some way to explaining its personal nature – and Wade's links with his creator.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Long Goodbye is among David Nobbs's top five faked deaths in fiction, Malcolm Jones's ten favorite crime novels, David Nicholls' ten favorite film adaptations, and John Mullan's list of ten of the best fake deaths in fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue