Ross MacDonald, page 69
“ ‘To cover it even adequately’ ”: Millar to Olding, December 15, 1969, Princeton.
“ ‘Good morning, heartmate!’ ”: Kenneth to Margaret Millar, March 1, 1970, UCI.
“ ‘Don’t bother answering this item’ ”: Millar to Olding, received November 20, 1969, Princeton.
“ ‘Each of us likes to begin’ ”: Millar to Green, June 28, 1969, UCI.
“When Collin Wilcox”: Collin Wilcox interview with TN.
“ ‘Her enthusiasms are varied’ ”: Walter Clemons, “Meeting Miss Welty,” New York Times Book Review, April 12, 1970.
“ ‘Part of the enormous excitement’ ”: “An Interview with Ross Macdonald,” Concept Twelve, 1971.
“ ‘I’m a bit of an environmentalist myself’ ”: Ross Macdonald, Sleeping Beauty (Knopf, 1973).
“ ‘like a good novelist’ ”: Macdonald review of Don’t Shoot—We Are Your Children!, New York Times Book Review.
“ ‘Santa Barbara’s not nearly as careful’ ”: Ping Ferry interview with TN.
“ ‘It is neither natural nor necessary’ ”: Kenneth Millar, “Disaster Area to Reclaim,” “Our Readers’ Views,” Santa Barbara News-Press, June 17, 1970.
“ ‘Westwick was pretty fair’ ”: Bob Langfelder interview with TN.
“ ‘My sympathies are not with violence’ ”: Millar to Ruehlmann, March 10, 1970; typed copy, UCI.
“ ‘I put my hope in the intelligence of young people’ ”: Ed Wilcox, “The Secret Success of Kenneth Millar,” New York Sunday News, November 21, 1971.
“a carefully written and informative report”: Report of the Santa Barbara Citizens Commission on Civil Disorders, September 15, 1970. Copy at UCI.
“ ‘It came out somewhat more liberal’ ”: Millar to John Smith, September 20, 1970, UCI.
“ ‘I was facing arson charges’ ”: Langfelder interview with TN.
“ ‘I remembered his name’ ”: Macdonald, introduction to Lew Archer, Private Investigator; reprinted in Self-Portrait.
“ ‘not a bitterness or gloom or resignation’ ”: Matthew J. Bruccoli, “Kenneth Millar (13 December 1915-11 July 1983),” in Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook: 1983.
“ ‘I had the feeling when I was with Ken’ ”: Bruccoli interview with TN.
“ ‘There is always moral pain involved’ ”: Millar to Green, July 19, 1970, UCI.
“ ‘Certainly I don’t want to strain the situation’ ”: Millar to Olding, July 18, 1970, Princeton.
“Ross Macdonald wrote its foreword”: Robert Easton, Black Tide (Delacorte Press, 1972); Macdonald’s foreword was reprinted in Self-Portrait.
“ ‘I’m like you . . . love to see nice things happen to my friends’ ”: Millar to Olding, June 24, 1972, Princeton.
“ ‘Leonard Gardner’ ”: Millar to Green, October 27, 1969, UCI.
“ ‘Here we have a chance for a good one’ ”: Millar to Olding, received November 20, 1969, Princeton.
“a strong essay”: George Grella, “Murder and the Mean Streets: The Hard-Boiled Detective Novel,” Contempora, March 1970; included in Dick Allan and David Chacko, eds., Detective Fiction: Crime and Compromise (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974); and in Robin W. Winks, ed., Detective Fiction: A Collection of Critical Essays (Prentice-Hall, 1980; Foul Play Press, 1988). Millar recommended this essay to his librarian friend John Smith (Millar to Smith, April 23, 1970, UCI).
“Harrison Salisbury gave Millar an assignment”: Salisbury to Millar, August 27, 1970, UCI.
“Millar later begged off”: Millar to Salisbury, 1970, handwritten copy, Princeton.
“ ‘delighted’ ”: Millar to Olding, September 24, 1970, Princeton.
“ ‘carom shots’ ”: Millar to Olding, November 1, 1970, Princeton.
“ ‘It will help to get my name around in the schools’ ”: Millar to Olding, October 4, 1970, Princeton.
“ ‘I’m told that Bantam is going to put out batches’ ”: Millar to Olding, 1970, Princeton.
“ ‘I never mailed it’ ”: Clemons, “Meeting Miss Welty.”
“ ‘warm’ ”: Millar to Knopf, May 14, 1970, HRHRC.
“ ‘most pleasant and (naturally) intelligent’ ”: Millar to Knopf, June 23, 1970, HRHRC.
“ ‘To receive such a letter’ ”: Ibid.
“ ‘So much luck as I’ve had’ ”: Millar to Olding, July 2, 1970, Princeton.
“ ‘Your good luck and your bad luck balance out’ ”: Ross Macdonald, The Ferguson Affair (Knopf, 1960).
“ ‘Life is so very good on certain days’ ”: Millar to Green, November 1, 1970, UCI.
“ ‘[Linda’s husband] Joe was with us’ ”: Margaret Millar interview with Paul Nelson, UCI.
“ ‘You will understand me when I say’ ”: Millar to John Smith, November 7, 1970, UCI.
“ ‘She died young’ ”: Millar to Olding, November 8, 1970, Princeton.
“ ‘In a sense’ ”: Millar interview with Paul Nelson, UCI.
“ ‘Jim is a fine boy’ ”: Millar to Steven Carter, January 8, 1971, courtesy of Steven Carter.
“ ‘Our son-in-law and grandson come up every weekend’ ”: Millar to Olding, November 25, 1970, Princeton.
“ ‘Well, our little family got through the holiday season’ ”: Millar to Green, December 31, 1970, UCI.
“ ‘As if our fortunes’ ”: Millar to Harker, November 29, 1971, courtesy of Herb Harker.
“ ‘I had a nice letter’ ”: Millar to Green, December 31, 1970, UCI.
“ ‘I was flabbergasted’ ”: Leonard interview with TN.
“ ‘That a Southern lady of letters’ ”: John Leonard, “I Care Who Killed Roger Ackroyd,” Esquire, August 1975.
“ ‘I just had to do that’ ”: Eudora Welty interview with TN.
“ ‘She dealt with Walter Clemons’ ”: Leonard interview with TN.
“ ‘Your review filled me with joy’ ”: Millar to Welty, January 18, 1971; typed copy, UCI. A month later, with coverage of Macdonald escalating, Millar wrote, “I told her [Welty] I have become her Frankenstein monster” (Millar to John Smith, February 24, 1971, UCI).
“ ‘It’s an enormous blockbuster’ ”: Millar to Green, January 18, 1971, UCI.
“ ‘It’s going to be a great help’ ”: Millar to Olding, January 26, 1971, Princeton.
“ ‘Heaping blessings on my head’ ”: Millar to Knopf, January 23, 1971, HRHRC.
“ ‘I am absolutely bowled over’ ”: Knopf to Millar, February 4, 1971, HRHRC.
“as Bill Hogan noted”: William Hogan, “The Artistry of Ross Macdonald,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 26, 1971.
“ ‘ “I don’t believe in coincidences,” Archer says’ ”: Eudora Welty, “The Underground Man,” New York Times Book Review, February 14, 1971; reprinted in The Eye of the Story: Selected Essays & Reviews (Random House, 1978).
“ ‘pretty good going’ ”: von Auw to Millar, February 14, 1971, Princeton.
“a half-page ad in the daily Times”: Knopf ad, New York Times, February 22, 1971.
“ ‘We are expecting a very enthusiastic reception’ ”: Marc jaffe to Millar, February 18, 1971, UCI.
“ ‘Mr. Macdonald’s career is one of the most honorable I know’ ”: Walter Clemons, “Ross Macdonald at His Best,” New York Times, February 19, 1971.
“ ‘Not only is it a very astute appraisal’ ”: von Auw to Millar, February 19, 1971, Princeton.
“ ‘quite overwhelmed’ ”: Millar to Green, February 22, 1971, UCI.
“Judith Rascoe’s in Life”: Judith Rascoe, “A detective of past sins,” Life, February 26, 1971.
“William Hogan’s in the San Francisco Chronicle”: Hogan, “The Artistry of Ross Macdonald.”
“Clifford A. Ridley’s in the National Observer”: Clifford A. Ridley, “Lew Archer Returns for Another Tour of Macdonald’s Sad Cosmos,” National Observer, March 15, 1971.
“ ‘In the professional line’ ”: Millar to Olding, February 19, 1971, HRHRC.
“ ‘I knew Tim in Cambridge, Massachusetts’ ”: Ray Sokolov interview with TN.
“ ‘Ken loved that boy’ ”: Peter Wolfe interview with TN.
“ ‘The Millars lead an extremely quiet life’ ”: Raymond A. Sokolov, “The Art of Murder,” Newsweek, March 22, 1971.
“Millar said of Sokolov”: Dick Lid interview with TN.
“ ‘I can’t tell you how proud and delighted I was’ ”: Oscar Dystel to Millar, March 18, 1971, UCI.
“ ‘I’ll be interested to see’ ”: Millar to von Auw, March 26, 1971, Princeton.
“ ‘There seems to be a general feeling’ ”: Millar to Green, February 22, 1971, UCI.
“ ‘Many stores tell us’ ”: “Best Sellers,” Publishers Weekly, March 15, 1971.
“ ‘I am frankly delighted’ ”: Millar to Bruccoli, March 19, 1971, MJB Collection, UCI.
“ ‘We passed 43,000’ ”: Green to Millar, April 14, 1971, UCI.
“ ‘Well, this is a long-awaited consummation’ ”: Millar to von Auw, February 25, 1971, Princeton.
“ ‘ridiculously well’ ”: Millar to Nolan Miller, March 22, 1971, the Nolan Miller Papers, Special Collections Library, University of Michigan; typed copy, UCI.
“ ‘incredible, but am too old’ ”: Ibid.
“ ‘very friendly’ ”: Millar to Olding, March 25, 1971, Princeton.
“ ‘Macdonald’s books are full of the wandering hungers of California people’ ”: Art Seidenbaum, “Place for Private I,” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 1971.
“ ‘Critics should not blow their own horns’ ”: Robert Kirsch, Los Angeles Times Calendar, March 14, 1971.
“ ‘the first runaway mystery in many years’ ”: John Barkham, “Where Writing Is No Mystery,” New York Post, August 21, 1971.
“Don’t Shoot—We Are Your Children!”: Macdonald, “Don’t Shoot—We Are Your Children!” New York Times Book Review, April 25, 1971.
“A Catalogue of Crime”: Ross Macdonald, “A Catalogue of Crime,” New York Times Book Review, May 16, 1971; reprinted in Macdonald, A Collection of Reviews (Lord John Press, 1979).
“ ‘The Underground Bye-bye’ ”: Richard Lingeman, New York Times Book Review, June 6, 1971.
Millar appreciated well-done parodies, even of his own work. One good one of Macdonald (which Millar praised to Anthony Boucher) is Ron Goulart’s “The Peppermint-Striped Goodby” in Best Detective Stories of the Year: 21st Annual Collection (E. P. Dutton & Co., 1966).
“the Book Review’s June ‘Selection of Recent Titles’ ”: “A Selection of Recent Titles,” New York Times Book Review, June 6, 1971. The Underground Man was also included in the Book Review’s year-end “Selection of Noteworthy Titles” (December 5, 1971).
“Knopf’s bold April Underground full-pager”: Knopf ad, New York Times Book Review, April 4, 1971.
“ ‘stunning’ ”: Millar to Green, April 4, 1971, UCI.
“an April spread”: Bantam Books ad, New York Times Book Review, April 4, 1971.
“ ‘I’d like to see a good movie made’ ”: Millar to Olding, April 12, 1971, Princeton.
“ ‘I’m in more distinguished company’ ”: Millar to Olding, May 10, 1971, Princeton.
“ ‘a Jungian Ross Macdonald’ ”: Roger Sale, “A Dirty Dean and a Brazen Head,” New York Review of Books, February 8, 1973.
“ ‘I don’t know of anything else’ ”: Millar to Ruehlmann, March 13, 1971; typed copy, UCI.
“ ‘drives so deep into Canadian experience’ ”: Millar to Wolfe, March 13, 1971, UCI.
“ ‘It’s been a great spring for me’ ”: Barbara A. Bannon, “Authors & Editors,” Publishers Weekly, August 9, 1971.
“thought it would be fine for the two writers to meet”: Leonard, “I Care Who Killed Roger Ackroyd.”
“ ‘As I came into the lobby and got my key’ ”: Eudora Welty interview with TN.
“ ‘I need scarcely say how delighted I am’ ”: Knopf to Millar, April 20, 1971, HRHRC.
“ ‘Your party was and will remain one of the high points of my life’ ”: Millar to Alfred and Helen Knopf, May 28, 1971, HRHRC.
“ ‘We spent one day driving a 300-mile circuit’ ”: Ibid.
“ ‘the death of Linda’ ”: Millar to Wolfe, September 21, 1971, UCI.
“ ‘Such an overall sale of Archer’ ”: Millar to Green, May 28, 1971, UCI.
“ ‘I’m sorry’ ”: Millar to Seed, typed copy, UCI.
“ ‘I was in Hollywood’ ”: Seed interview with TN.
“ ‘nothing short of historic’ ”: Millar to Seed, typed copy, UCI.
“Of all the good news I’ve had this year’ ”: Millar to Olding, June 26, 1971, Princeton.
“ ‘drowning in correspondence’ ”: Millar to Collin Wilcox, June 19, 1971, from the Wilcox Collection, Department of Special Collections, Boston University.
“ ‘The letters I get from young people’ ”: Millar to Nolan Miller, August 24, 1971, the Nolan Miller Papers, Special Collections Library, University of Michigan; typed copy, UCI.
“ ‘I don’t think there is a chance in this world’ ”: Ober memo, Ivan von Auw, April 8, 1971, Princeton.
“ ‘We’re very glad to have the opportunity’ ”: Millar to Olding, June 26, 1971, Princeton.
“ ‘Hell, I may never come back’ ”: Millar to Wolfe, July 10, 1971, UCI.
“ ‘I hope to visit Czechoslovakia’ ”: Ober memo, June 30, 1971, Princeton.
“ ‘Do you think he’s going to become’ ”: Ibid.
“ ‘If I was dubious’ ”: Millar to Julian Symons, August 4, 1971, courtesy of Julian Symons.
“ ‘I’m not so night-bound’ ”: Millar to Symons, August 12, 1971, courtesy of Julian Symons.
“ ‘It’s a little late for us, perhaps’ ”: Millar to Harker, August 18, 1971, courtesy of Herb Harker.
“ ‘I’m at the same time keen and a little frightened’ ”: Millar to Green, September 21, 1971, UCI.
“ ‘I’m poised at the intersection’ ”: Millar to Wolfe, September 21, 1971, UCI.
“ ‘every car in Paris’ ”: Millar to Knopf, November 16, 1971, HRHRC.
“ ‘strange and exciting’ ”: Millar to Wolfe, November 22, 1971, UCI.
“Maggie complained about the exhaust fumes”: Margaret Millar interview with Paul Nelson, UCI.
“ ‘We were there at a big oval table’ ”: H. R. F. Keating interview with TN.
“ ‘He talked with characteristic gentle candor’ ”: Julian Symons, “A Transatlantic Friendship,” from Inward Journey.
“ ‘And the producer squashed’ ”: Symons interview with TN.
“ ‘I never thought I could enjoy such a party’ ”: Millar to Wolfe, November 22, 1971, UCI.
“ ‘The interviewer told me’ ”: Ibid.
“ ‘Got along very well with the journalists’ ”: Millar to Olding, October 31, 1971, Princeton.
“Philip Oakes in the London Sunday Times”: Philip Oakes, “In for Life,” Illustrated London News, (London) Sunday Times, October 24, 1971.
“Bill Foster from the Edinburgh Scotsman”: William Foster, (Edinburgh) Scotsman, November 20, 1971.
“Mike Fearn of London Express Features”: Mike Fearn, “Ross Macdonald,” London Express Features, copy at UCI.
“ ‘shuffling modesty’ ”: Peter Preston, “The farther side of the dollar,” (London) Guardian, October 23, 1971.
“ ‘It’ll be interesting to see if it helps the book’ ”: Millar to Olding, October 31, 1971, Princeton.
“ ‘Canadians seem to feel at home in London’ ”: Millar to Harker, November 15, 1971, courtesy of Herb Harker.
“ ‘a rather large damp Toronto’ ”: Millar to Ruehlmann, November 23, 1971; typed copy, UCI.
“ ‘Those sights’ ”: Millar to Harker, November 15, 1971.
“ ‘so once again I made a loop in my life’ ”: Millar to Knopf, November 16, 1971, HRHRC.
“ ‘There are many more tall buildings’ ”: Millar to Symons, November 5, 1971, courtesy of Julian Symons.
“ ‘His genre are exciting plots’ ”: B. Rodnom Gorode, Znamya, no. 2, 1972, typed translation sent by R. A. D. Ford to Millar, November 23, 1972, UCI. Also National Library of Canada.
“ ‘Archer is a masterful creation’ ”: Bruce Cook, “Ross Macdonald: The Prince in the Poorhouse,” New Catholic World, October 1971.
“ ‘one does not really’ ”: Richard Schickel, “Detective Story,” Commentary, September 1971.
“ ‘What interests me most’ ”: Jaffe to Millar, February 3, 1972, UCI.
“ ‘It is fascinating to see the interplay’ ”: Morton G. Wurtele to Macdonald, April 10, 1972, UCI.
“ ‘A reader only rarely has to justify’ ”: Langfelder to Millar, March 18, 1972, UCI.
“ ‘It had to be California’ ”: Cecil Smith, “Finding—and Filming—an American Family,” Los Angeles Times, January 11, 1973.
“ ‘That book continues to surprise me’ ”: Millar to Bruccoli, November 15, 1972, MJB Collection, UCI.
“from Osvaldo Soriano”: Soriano to Millar, November 8, 1972, UCI.
“La Opinión”: Osvaldo Soriano, “Una novela de Ross Macdonald desnuda la crisis de la sociedad norteamericana” (review of El hombre enterrado), La Opinion, December 14, 1971.
“since Dashiell Hammett”: R. A. D. Ford to Millar, November 23, 1972, UCI.
“ ‘attracting great attention in London’ ”: Bruccoli to Millar, July 12, 1972, UCI.
“ ‘My private literary event this year’ ”: A. Alvarez, “Books of the Year,” Observer Review, December 17, 1972.
“ ‘He wrote like a slumming angel’ ”: This quote, taken from Macdonald’s preface to Matthew Bruccoli’s Kenneth Millar/Ross Macdonald—A Checklist (Gale Research Co., 1971), which appeared initially on several Chandler books published by Ballantine in 1972, was used on other publishers’ Chandler editions into the 1990s.
