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
