Lew Archer

Lew Archer
First appearanceThe Moving Target
Last appearanceThe Blue Hammer
Created byRoss Macdonald
Portrayed byPaul Newman
Peter Graves
Brian Keith
Harris Yulin
James Faulkner
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationPrivate detective
SpouseSue Archer (divorced)
NationalityAmerican

Lew Archer is a fictional character created by American-Canadian writer Ross Macdonald. Archer is a private detective working in Southern California.[1] Between the late 1940s and the early '70s, the character appeared in 18 novels and a handful of shorter works as well as several film and television adaptations. Macdonald's Archer novels have been praised for building on the foundations of hardboiled fiction by introducing more literary themes and psychological depth to the genre. Critic John Leonard declared that Macdonald had surpassed the limits of crime fiction to become "a major American novelist"[2] while author Eudora Welty was a fan of the series and carried on a lengthy correspondence with Macdonald.[3] The editors of Thrilling Detective wrote: "The greatest P.I. series ever written? Probably."[4]

  1. ^ Herbert, Rosemary (1 January 2003). Whodunit? : a who's who in crime & mystery writing. Oxford University Press. pp. 10. ISBN 0195157613. OCLC 252700230.
  2. ^ "Feature - Ross Macdonald Tribute". januarymagazine.com.
  3. ^ Louis Bayard (2015) Review: Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald, Conjoined by a Torrent of Words, The New York Times 13 July 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016
  4. ^ "Lew Archer". thrillingdetective.com. 2 October 2018.