โ Scribed by W. R. Burnett
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
W.R. Burnett had first-hand experience of the world he describes in his vivid and terse novel Little Caesar (1929).
The novel's hero, Cesare Bandello (Rico), is a "gutter Macbeth", a bad guy who claws his way through the ranks of a Chicago gang, circa 1928. Though the image of Rico is almost inseparable from Edward G. Robinson's star-making performance in the 1930 film version of the book, the novel, inspired in part by Machiavelli's The Prince , remains a fuller experience. It is believed to have had a profound effect on William Faulkner, Horace McCoy, and Graham Greene.
There is nothing heroic about Rico. He is not a dashing or even especially talented man; the one gift he possesses is a laser-like focus. It is this intensity that sets him apart from the slovenly hoods that surround him.
Rico is a cold, clear-eyed student of human nature. This knowledge initially provides Rico's success, but when it crystallizes into hubris, it results in his ultimate undoing....
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