Ross Macdonald

This article is about the author. For the Canadian sailor, see Ross MacDonald (sailor). For the musician, see Ross MacDonald (musician). For Australian politician, see Ross McDonald.
Not to be confused with John D. MacDonald.

Ross Macdonald
BornKenneth Millar
(1915-12-13)December 13, 1915
Los Gatos, California, U.S.
DiedJuly 11, 1983(1983-07-11) (aged 67)
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Pen nameJohn Macdonald, John Ross Macdonald, Ross Macdonald
OccupationNovelist
Alma materUniversity of Western Ontario, University of Michigan
GenreCrime fiction
Spouse
​
(m. 1938)​
Children1

Ross Macdonald was the main pseudonym used by the American-Canadian writer of crime fiction Kenneth Millar (/ˈmɪlər/; December 13, 1915 – July 11, 1983). He is best known for his series of hardboiled novels set in Southern California and featuring private detective Lew Archer. Since the 1970s, Macdonald's works (particularly the Archer novels) have received attention in academic circles[1][2][3] for their psychological depth,[4][5] sense of place,[6][7][8] use of language,[9] sophisticated imagery[10] and integration of philosophy into genre fiction.[11] Brought up in the province of Ontario, Canada, Macdonald eventually settled in the state of California, where he died in 1983.

The Wall Street Journal wrote that:

"... it is the sheer beauty of Macdonald’s laconic style—with its seductive rhythms and elegant plainness—that holds us spellbound. 'Hard-boiled,' 'noir,' 'mystery,' it doesn’t matter what you call it. Macdonald, with insolent grace, blows past the barrier constructed by Dorothy Sayers between 'the literature of escape' and 'the literature of expression.' These novels, triumphs of his literary alchemy, dare to be both."[12]

  1. ^ Grogg, Sam (June 1973). "Ross MacDonald: At the Edge". The Journal of Popular Culture. 7 (1): 213–224. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1973.00213.x.
  2. ^ Browne, Ray B. (December 1990). "Ross Macdonald: Revolutionary Author and Critic; Or The Need for the Oath of Macdonald". The Journal of Popular Culture. 24 (3): 101–111. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1990.2403_101.x. ProQuest 195365876.
  3. ^ Sacks, Sheldon (1979). "The Pursuit of Lew Archer". Critical Inquiry. 6 (2): 231–238. doi:10.1086/448044. JSTOR 1343244. S2CID 161660586.
  4. ^ Skenazy, Paul (1983). "Bringing It All Back Home: Ross Macdonald's Lost Father". The Threepenny Review (12): 9–11. JSTOR 4383163.
  5. ^ Fox, Terry Curtis (1984). "Psychological Guilt: Ross Macdonald". Film Comment. 20 (5): 34, 80. ProQuest 210243329.
  6. ^ Grogg, Samuel L. (1974). Between the Mountains and the Sea: Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer Novels (Thesis).
  7. ^ Michael Kreyling. “Lew Archer, House Whisperer.” South Central review. 27.1 (2010): 123–143. Web.
  8. ^ Bacevich, Andrew (2015). "A Not-So-Golden State: The detective stories of Ross Macdonald". The Baffler (29): 122–126. JSTOR 43959251.
  9. ^ Christianson, Scott R. (1989). "Tough Talk and Wisecracks: Language as Power in American Detective Fiction". The Journal of Popular Culture. 23 (2): 151–162. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1989.00151.x.
  10. ^ Pry, Elmer R. (1974). "Ross Macdonald's Violent California: Imagery Patterns in The Underground Man". Western American Literature. 9 (3): 197–203. doi:10.1353/wal.1974.0006. S2CID 165787318.
  11. ^ Sharp, Michael D. (September 22, 2003). "Plotting Chandler's Demise: Ross Macdonald and the Neo-Aristotelian detective novel". Studies in the Novel. 35 (3): 405–428. JSTOR 29533588. Gale A109085457 ProQuest 212626987.
  12. ^ Mundow, Anna (November 23, 2017). "Review: Hard-Boiled in California". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved October 24, 2023.