Ross MacDonald

by Tom Nolan

  as newspaper editor-manager, 15, 16–17

  reconciliation attempted by Anna and, 23

  testament of, 26

  Millar, Kenneth (Ross Macdonald) (KM):

  as academic achiever, 13, 21, 26, 27, 33–34, 36, 42, 44–45, 53, 62, 63, 66

  Alzheimer’s disease of, 15, 368, 387, 390, 391–92, 396–98, 399–410

  animals and, 85, 224–25, 238, 253–54, 271, 272, 277–78, 350, 357, 388, 406–7, 415

  appearance of, 17, 39–40, 45, 55, 57, 274, 349, 379, 385, 404, 406

  “attempted suicide” of, 127

  awards won by, 252, 256, 267, 309, 326, 327, 342, 347–49, 354–55, 406, 411

  bad writing scorned by, 253, 386–87

  on beats, 192, 196

  on becoming part of English idiom, 327

  and best-seller list, 290–91

  birth of, 15, 17

  on birth of Linda, 49

  bookishness of, 325

  in breadwinning status clash with MM, 78–80, 81

  broad literary knowledge of, 322, 323, 350, 374

  Californian and American culture as seen by, 149, 154–55, 161, 178, 336–37

  as Canadian, 312, 358, 380–84

  Canadian stories planned by, 317, 377, 383–84

  cash flow as spur to writing of, 48–49

  Chandler and Hammett book jacket

  blurbs by, 320–21

  childhood and adolescence of, 17–36, 274, 349, 415

  Coleridge as literary ancestor of, 125, 275

  college and graduate school years of, 13, 35–37, 39–45, 47, 48, 52, 58, 62, 68, 98–108, 121–22, 125–26, 312

  contentment of, 257–58, 262, 272, 278

  corrective streak in, 103–4

  correspondence of, 313

  Coyote blaze battled by, 248–19

  as creative-writing instructor, 187–88

  in critique of Edgar Awards ceremony, 256

  daughter of, see Millar, Linda Jane

  death and cremation of, 410–15

  on detective fiction as serious literature, 136–37, 142, 151, 182–83, 188, 189–90, 255–56

  detective genre as attractive to, 109–20

  detective writers’ envy of, 326, 362

  documentaries on, 298, 326, 327, 384, 388, 398

  early antisocial behavior of, 13, 22, 26, 29, 31, 33

  early homosexual experiences of, 23, 26, 27, 29, 33, 34, 55, 125–26

  early literary ambitions of, 27, 29–30, 34, 36–37, 41

  early reading of, 21, 24, 25, 27, 30

  environmental and civic activism of, 240–42, 282–84, 323, 410

  European travel of, 37–38, 313–17, 376–77

  family duty and, 36, 100, 101

  family members as writing models for, 27, 29

  family secrets concealed by, 12, 23–24, 31, 306–7, 373, 374

  as father, 14, 50, 51–52, 60–61, 66, 105, 149, 154, 155, 156, 160–61, 166–67, 169, 177, 178, 203–4, 351

  as father figure, 279, 301, 323, 349, 368, 393

  father’s relationship with, see Millar, John Macdonald “Jack”

  father surrogates of, 21, 33, 54–55

  film and television royalties of, 356

  finances of MM and, 90, 95, 119, 129, 132, 158, 213, 319, 356, 384, 388, 394

  first Hollywood visit of, 75–76

  first published pieces of, 49

  on foreign publicity campaign with MM, 313–17

  formal manner of, 268, 271, 278, 279, 295, 311, 325, 334–35, 349–50

  grandson of, see James

  Hammett discovered by, 31–32, 349

  health problems of, 66, 90, 119–20, 131, 135, 152, 213, 217, 357

  Hollywood agents of, see Carter, Eddie; Rosenberg, Lee; Swanson, H. N.

  Hollywood as seen by, 76, 149, 201, 246, 335–36

  Hollywood projects of, 265–69

  as host, 58, 104

  identification with Oliver Twist by, 24

  on imagery in Divine Comedy, 53

  intelligence of, 56, 116, 117, 311

  on jazz, 81–82, 84–85, 86

  as KCI teacher, 49–50, 52

  and lecture on history of detective story, 138–40

  limelight shunned by, 291, 354

  literary agents of, see von Auw, Ivan; Green, Ashbel; Harold Ober Agency; Keel, Daniel; Liepman, Ruth; Ober, Harold; Olding, Dorothy

  as literary editor of Grumbler, 30

  “Lizzie Borden” verses of, 239

  in London, 37–38

  loneliness of, 142, 154

  marriage of, see Millar, Margaret Sturm

  on “Miltonic split,” 124–25

  moodiness of, 178–79, 185–86

  motto of, 230

  music and, 103, 245

  Navy commission of, 66, 68–82

  and parents’ separation, 15, 17–18, 19, 20

  personal moral code of, 13, 34, 41, 105, 169, 227, 244, 278, 279

  physical fitness of, 257, 311, 404, 406

  on place in detective genre, 262

  poetry and, 29, 36, 154, 179, 254–55

  politics of, 135, 136, 219, 244, 275–76, 323, 337

  poverty of, 20, 23, 28, 31

  primary and secondary education of, 21, 24–34

  on private detective in Isla Vista bank burning case, 295–96

  pseudonyms of, 100–102, 109, 119, 142–44, 146, 151

  in psychoanalysis, 178–79

  as public speaker, 138

  on purpose of detective novel, 139, 237–38

  reaction to fame of, 305, 308

  on relationship between critic and writer, 367

  religious beliefs of, 300–301

  reminiscences of and obituaries for, 410, 415

  in revenge on Kitchener Library restrictions, 32

  as sailor, 185

  and self-blame for parents’ problems, 19–20

  self-confidence in work shown by, 278

  self-containment of, 229, 242–43, 280–81, 295, 296, 311–12, 335, 350, 351–52, 375

  self-effacing manner of, 343–44, 349, 366, 379–80

  sense of humor of, 40, 59, 67, 334

  sense of isolation felt by, 95–96, 101

  “serious” writing and, 84, 86, 87–88, 100, 158, 197, 198, 217, 237–38, 258

  sexuality of, 13, 22, 37, 47, 50, 81, 161, 227, 231

  on shore leave in N.Y.C., 81–82

  silences of, 254, 268, 314, 344, 374, 375

  as “split” youth and man, 13–14, 31, 33, 127, 343

  as successor to Hammett and Chandler, 8, 11, 12, 131, 151, 236, 237, 252, 327

  as swimmer, 95, 97, 217, 247–48, 322, 335, 404, 406, 415

  taboo subjects in interviews of, 306–7, 326

  teaching career sought by, 36, 45, 47–48, 98, 155

  UCSB job denied to, 198–99

  verbal and mental strength of, 39–40, 269

  Vietnam War opposed by, 270, 275–76, 279

  on Welty’s review of Underground Man, 303, 304

  as wise counselor, 272, 323, 392–93

  women and, 124–25, 141–42, 340, 378–79, 404

  work habits and schedule of, 116, 200, 225, 274, 278, 313

  writers helped by, 225–26, 242, 243, 271–72, 280, 297, 313, 321, 334–36, 366, 368, 369–70, 387

  at writer’s lunch at Harry’s (Josie’s) El Cielito, 197, 243, 252–53, 254, 271, 276, 282, 290, 301, 324, 334–35, 344–46, 402

  writing increasingly difficult for, 359, 362–63, 377, 384, 387, 390–91, 394, 395, 398

  writing style of, 133–35, 304–5, 325

  Millar, Kenneth (Ross Macdonald), writings and work of:

  academic recognition of, 273, 280, 298, 307, 322–25, 327, 347–49, 357

  “Angry Man, The” (unpublished novelette), 179

  anthologies, 151–52, 261, 262, 268, 291, 298, 309, 368–69, 390, 398

  Archer at Large, 291, 298, 309

  Archer in Hollywood (anthology), 268

  Ar
cher in Jeopardy (anthology), 390, 398

  autobiography in, 192–95, 215–17, 187, 220–22, 232–33, 331, 333, 358

  Barbarous Coast, The, 114, 156–59, 168–69, 172, 183, 189, 198, 206, 213, 246, 255, 268, 280

  “Bearded Lady, The,” 88, 92, 151, 158

  Black Money, 11, 255, 259, 261, 265, 267, 273, 291, 397

  Blue City, 84–90, 92, 96, 97, 98, 99, 109, 110, 119, 134, 144, 158, 197, 299, 318, 320, 414

  Blue Hammer, The, 359, 362, 363, 365, 370–73, 384, 397–98

  book reviews, 198, 308, 321

  California in, see California, in KM’s novels

  “campus cults” and, 295

  Chandler’s work compared with, 250–51, 252, 320, 411

  Chill, The, 11, 230–35, 239, 245–16, 252, 255, 260, 265, 266, 269, 273, 285, 291, 297–98, 305, 306, 309, 320, 322, 324, 368

  “Coleridge and the Inward Eye,” turned down for publication, 223–24, 229–30, 325

  crime genre elevated in, 8, 11, 14, 252, 411

  criticisms of, 318

  Dark Tunnel, The, 66–67, 69, 76, 80, 86, 91, 392

  “Death Road for the Condor, A,” 241

  dialogue in, 85, 94

  Divine Comedy and, 54–55

  doctoral dissertation, 98, 103, 106, 186, 223–24, 229–30, 325

  Doomsters, The, 11, 179–83, 188–90, 194, 202, 217, 255, 277, 287, 381, 390

  “Down These Streets a Mean Man Must Go” (talk), 348–49

  Drowning Pool, The, 110–13, 115, 118–19, 122, 128, 129, 157, 413

  Enormous Detour, The, 190

  families in, 12, 13, 14, 112, 177, 191–95, 285, 287, 319–20, 329–32

  fan mail and, 275, 319–20

  Far Side of the Dollar, The, 242, 245, 246, 247, 250, 251–52, 255, 258, 267, 305, 309, 326, 347, 399

  Ferguson Affair, The, 214–17, 218, 246, 255, 356, 414

  films and, 90, 218, 247, 265–67, 414; see also Lew Archer series, films and

  Find a Victim, 144–47, 150–51, 157

  “Find the Woman,” 77, 78, 151, 163, 197, 201, 206

  first-hand research for, 57, 96–97, 114, 115, 148, 149, 224, 228, 268–69, 294–95

  foreign editions and sales of, 119, 147, 158, 173, 218, 223–24, 280, 291, 313–17, 320, 361, 377, 399, 412

  friends as portrayed in, 234–35

  Galton Case, The, 11, 191–95, 197, 201–2, 206, 214, 255, 261, 277, 291, 324, 410

  genre blurring in, 182–83, 411–12

  “Gone Girl,” 163

  Goodbye Look, The, see Goodbye Look, The

  Great Stories of Suspense (ed.), 342, 357

  “Guilty Ones, The,” 132, 142

  Hit and Run (uncompleted book), 91

  Hollywood as depicted in, 86, 123, 156–58

  homosexuality in, 125

  “Imaginary Blonde, The,” 142

  influences on, 66–67, 70–71, 84–85, 89, 183, 198, 412

  Instant Enemy, The, 269, 273, 275, 279–80, 365, 384, 387, 388, 390

  “Inward Eye, The: A Revaluation of Coleridge’s Psychological Criticism,” 103, 106, 186, 198, 199–200, 213; see above “Coleridge and the Inward Eye”

  Ivory Grin, The (Marked for Murder), 124–25, 128, 129, 131, 132, 146, 147, 261, 291, 381

  jacket art for, 102, 142, 151, 230, 255, 258, 286, 288, 290, 355

  “Kenneth Millar” novels, 129, 131–32, 190

  Lew Archer: Private Investigator (anthology), 368–69

  Lew Archer in, see Lew Archer

  Linda’s troubles foreshadowed in, 167–68, 182, 206

  literary authors as admirers of, 334, 412

  mainstream stature of, 334, 335, 411–13

  Meet Me at the Morgue, 135, 142, 146, 165, 197

  “Memorial Day,” 177

  Millar family in, 12, 112, 120, 179–82, 194, 215–17, 220, 232–34, 274, 306, 329–32

  Moving Target, The, 91–94, 99–102, 106–9, 111, 113, 119, 229, 247, 251, 259, 260–61, 267, 268, 335, 359, 371, 392

  mystery writers influenced by, 11, 234, 280, 320, 413–14

  Name Is Archer, The, 151–52, 156, 173, 280

  non-Archer heroes of, 67, 80, 85, 86, 88, 110–12, 131, 215, 218

  “Notes of a Son and Father,” 166–67

  painters as influence on, 85

  “Passengers on a Cable Car Named Despair,” 192, 196, 365

  “Passing Show, The” (column), 56, 309

  popularity of, 12, 108, 156, 172–73, 196, 255, 273, 285, 412

  potential plots for, 91

  “Preface to The Galton Case, A,” 280

  printings of, 391

  reputation of, in detective-fiction genre, 280, 411

  reviews of, 131, 142, 148, 320

  sales of, 189, 197, 202, 214, 218, 238–39, 258, 267, 273, 280, 290, 291, 308, 318–19

  “Seabag,” 80

  search for personal identity in, 12, 15, 192, 216, 252

  Self-Portrait: Ceaselessly into the Past, 402, 403

  as serious fiction, 129, 134, 191, 237–38, 252, 275, 280, 286, 287, 290, 298, 308, 347–48, 349, 391

  settings of, 67, 84

  “Shock Treatment,” 142

  Sleeping Beauty, see Sleeping Beauty

  social conscience in, 94

  “South Sea Soup Co., The,” 29

  “Suicide, The,” 206

  television and, 132, 142, 158, 197, 201, 213–14, 246, 265, 353–54, 355–56, 359–60

  themes in, 12, 13, 15, 84, 93, 94, 112, 122, 123, 157, 187, 191–92, 232, 285, 287, 324, 340–41, 348, 351, 362, 383, 412

  Three Roads, The, 86, 87, 89, 90, 97, 99, 105, 119, 122, 342, 356, 360, 414

  Trouble Follows Me, 80, 86

  Underground Man, The, see Underground Man, The

  Way Some People Die, The, 121–24, 128, 129, 157, 198, 261, 268

  Weak-Eyed Bat, The, 57, 65

  “Wild Goose,” 36

  as winner of writing contest, 77

  Winter Solstice, 88, 90, 91, 100, 106, 194

  women in, 93, 112, 122, 123, 194, 216, 220

  “Writer as Detective Hero, The,” 250–51

  Wycherly Woman, The, 217–22, 223, 228, 236, 237

  “Yellow Dusters, The,” 48–49

  young readers of, 276, 277, 285, 293, 313

  Zebra-Striped Hearse, The, 224, 227–28, 230, 236, 237, 239, 246–47, 255, 280, 305, 309, 327, 333, 375, 390

  Millar, Linda Jane (daughter), 14, 54, 66, 97–98, 183–84, 217, 269, 274

  birth of, 49

  birth of son to, 238

  broken arm of, 106, 120

  car bought for, 154

  in college, 185, 202–4

  disappearance of, 204–13, 288

  disturbed behavior of, 66, 105, 112, 120, 148–49, 156, 160–62, 167

  drinking problem of, 154, 160, 162, 166, 171, 203

  fights between MM and, 127

  hit-run accident of, 163–76

  illness and death of, 299, 300, 302–3, 306, 312

  intelligence of, 148, 149, 165, 166

  KM on death of, 300, 302–3, 306

  KM’s relationship with, 14, 50, 51–52, 60–61, 66, 105, 149, 154, 155, 156, 160–61, 166–67, 169, 177, 178, 203–4, 351

  KM vs. Margaret on raising of, 50, 60

  marriage of, 227

  as portrayed in parents’ fiction, 120, 194, 215–16, 220, 232–33, 306, 329–32

  psychiatric counseling of, 165–66, 203

  reading fare of, 105

  sexual behavior of, 160, 212

  as social misfit, 132, 154, 161

  solitary pursuits of, 84

  Millar, Margaret Sturm (wife) (MM), 7, 12, 33, 56, 95, 217, 227, 274, 286, 312, 321, 338, 350

  academics and, 135–36, 191

  appearance of, 45–46, 57

  anti-Vietnam War stance of KM and, 270, 275–76, 279

  awards won by, 167, 239, 414, 415

  birdwatching of, 224, 230, 238, 240, 244, 292, 327

  blindness
of, 388, 391, 396, 400

  cars bought by, 87, 149–50

  corrective streak in, 103–4

  death of, 415

  drinking by KM and, 13, 26, 31, 36, 37, 46, 58, 75–76, 103, 120, 154

  early literary ambitions of, 45, 50

  eating disorder of, 140

  Edgar Award and, 167, 239

  emotional disorders of, 44, 45, 127, 152–53, 385

  forcefulness of, 228, 369

  as grandparent, 238, 244–45, 262, 301, 306

  health problems of, 47, 49, 50–51, 104, 127, 363, 384, 385

  Hollywood studio work of, 73–84, 90, 263

  Hope Ranch home of KM and, 262, 270–71, 357–58

  as hostess, 58, 96, 104, 136, 186, 271

  jealousy of, 63–64, 78–79, 161, 327

  in joint interview with KM, 219

  and KM’s Alzheimer’s disease, 400–401, 402–5, 406–7

  KM’s courtship and marriage to, 44–47, 288

  after KM’s death, 414–15

  KM’s need for approval of, 47

  KM’s pet names for, 245

  KM’s relationship with, 47–48, 50, 57, 59–60, 63, 65–66, 73–74, 78–80, 81, 96, 98, 100, 101, 105, 106, 127, 131–32, 140–41, 152, 161, 170, 186–87, 216, 225, 228, 243, 244, 245, 252, 262, 279, 291–92, 306, 327, 350–51, 352–53, 369–70, 375–76, 384, 396, 400, 402–3

  KM’s support for success of, 52, 65, 74, 85, 292, 327

  as KM’s typist, 49, 50

  in KM’s writing, 233–34

  leisure activities of KM and, 85–86, 96–97, 197–98, 200–201, 217, 230, 244–45, 327, 396

  Linda’s birth and, 48–49

  Linda’s death and, 300–301, 302–3

  and Linda’s disappearance, 210, 211

  as Linda’s mother, 49, 50, 60, 66, 75, 105, 127, 149. 154, 166–67

  moodiness of, 59, 98, 104, 376

  piano playing of, 58, 103

  in protest of off-shore oil spill, 282–84

  in resumption of writing career, 363, 365, 377

  self-limitations of, 351

  separate friends of KM and, 271

  travel and, 244, 314, 376, 414

  trials attended by KM and, 115, 279, 294–95

  work schedule of, 200, 225, 274, 278

  Millar, Margaret Sturm, writings of, 139, 410

  agents for, 65, 71, 75, 149, 173, 292

  autobiography in, 95, 96, 98, 99

  birdwatching book, 252, 262, 269, 280

  films and, 73, 90

  foreign editions of, 173, 326–27, 377

  heroes of, 51, 65

  KM as “silent partner” in, 51–52, 57, 66, 98, 131, 150, 152, 291

  KM’s competition with, 66, 91, 98, 256, 291–92, 352

  KM’s opinion of, 71

  Linda’s problems foreshadowed in, 206

  Millar family problems as portrayed in, 120