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Four novels of the 1950s / Ross Macdonald ; Tom Nolan, editor.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextSeries: Library of America ; 264.Publisher: [New York] : The Library Of America, [2015]Copyright date: ©2015Description: 926 pages ; 21 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 1598533762
  • 9781598533767
Other title:
  • Crime novels of the 1950s [Spine title]
Uniform titles:
  • Novels. Selections
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Other writings. Letter to Alfred A. Knopf -- The writer as detective hero -- Preface to Archer in Hollywood -- Writing The Galton case -- Down these streets a mean man must go.
The way some people die -- The barbarous coast -- The doomsters -- The Galton case.
Summary: "Revered by such contemporary masters as Sue Grafton, George Pelecanos, and James Ellroy, praised by Eudora Welty as "a more serious and complex writer than Chandler and Hammett ever were," Ross Macdonald (the pseudonym of Kenneth Millar) brought to the crime novel a new realism and psychological depth and a unique gift for intricately involving mystery narratives. For his centennial, The Library of America inaugurates its Macdonald edition with four classic novels from the 1950s, all featuring his incomparable protagonist, private investigator Lew Archer. Set against the background of a glittering yet darkly enigmatic Southern California, Macdonald's books are both unsurpassed entertainments and emotionally powerful evocations of an outwardly prosperous, inwardly turbulent America. Macdonald mastered the hard-boiled detective form early on and brought to it a prose style of extraordinary beauty. The four novels collected in the volume reveal him broadening the genre into an intensely personal means of expression, transforming the tragedies and dislocations of his own life into haunting fiction. "My interest," he wrote to his publisher, "is the exploration of lives."
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Mystery Macdonal Ross Available 33111007987049
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

At last, the brilliant successor to Hammett and Chandler in a definitive collector's edition- Revered by such contemporary masters as Sue Grafton, George Pelecanos, and James Ellroy, Ross Macdonald (the pseudonym of Kenneth Millar) brought to the crime novel new levels of social realism and psychological depth, while honing a unique gift for intricately involving mystery narratives. For his centennial year, The Library of America inaugurates its Macdonald edition with four novels from the 1950s, all featuring his incomparable protagonist, private investigator Lew Archer. Here are The Way Some People Die , a twisted journey through Los Angeles high and low, The Barbarous Coast , an exploration of crime and corruption in the movie business, The Doomsters , a breakthrough novel of madness and self-destruction, and The Galton Case , the mythically charged and deeply personal book that Macdonald considered a turning point in his career. As a special feature, this volume also includes five pieces in which Macdonald reveals the autobiographical background of his books and describes his distinctive approach to crime writing.

Includes bibliographical references.

Other writings. Letter to Alfred A. Knopf -- The writer as detective hero -- Preface to Archer in Hollywood -- Writing The Galton case -- Down these streets a mean man must go.

The way some people die -- The barbarous coast -- The doomsters -- The Galton case.

"Revered by such contemporary masters as Sue Grafton, George Pelecanos, and James Ellroy, praised by Eudora Welty as "a more serious and complex writer than Chandler and Hammett ever were," Ross Macdonald (the pseudonym of Kenneth Millar) brought to the crime novel a new realism and psychological depth and a unique gift for intricately involving mystery narratives. For his centennial, The Library of America inaugurates its Macdonald edition with four classic novels from the 1950s, all featuring his incomparable protagonist, private investigator Lew Archer. Set against the background of a glittering yet darkly enigmatic Southern California, Macdonald's books are both unsurpassed entertainments and emotionally powerful evocations of an outwardly prosperous, inwardly turbulent America. Macdonald mastered the hard-boiled detective form early on and brought to it a prose style of extraordinary beauty. The four novels collected in the volume reveal him broadening the genre into an intensely personal means of expression, transforming the tragedies and dislocations of his own life into haunting fiction. "My interest," he wrote to his publisher, "is the exploration of lives."

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