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Millar (Philip D. Nathanson collection of Kenneth)
Materials
mssMillark
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Philip D. Nathanson collection of Kenneth Millar materials
Creator:
Macdonald, Ross,
1915-1983
Identifier/Call Number: mssMillark
Physical Description:
1.76 Linear Feet
(4 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1945-1980
Abstract: A collection of material related to the
author Kenneth Millar who wrote the Lew Archer mysteries under the pseudonym Ross
Macdonald.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Philip D. Nathanson collection of Kenneth Millar materials, The
Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Philip D. Nathanson, May 2022.
Kenneth Millar (1915-1983) was born in Los Gatos, California; his parents were Canadian,
and he was raised in the town of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. His father abandoned the family
when Millar was four years old, and he was raised by his mother; they moved multiple times
while he was growing up, but he moved back to Kitchener as a young adult. Millar graduated
from the University of Western Ontario with an Honors degree in History and English; he
received a PhD in literature from the University of Michigan in 1952. He married Margaret
Sturm in 1938; they had one daughter. During World War Two, Millar served as a naval
communications officer from 1944 to 1946; after the war, the family moved to Santa Barbara,
California. Millar began writing stories for pulp magazines and by 1944 had written four
novels under his own name; his fifth novel in 1949 was written as John Macdonald, then he
briefly used John Ross Macdonald before settling on Ross Macdonald from the mid-1950s
onward. Millar decided to use a pseudonym to avoid confusion with Margaret who was also a
successful mystery writer as Margaret Millar. Kenneth Millar primarily wrote crime fiction
novels set in Southern California which featured a private detective named Lew Archer; most
of the books were set around the fictional town of Santa Teresa which was based upon Santa
Barbara. Millar's Archer novels are widely considered to be some of the most significant
American mystery books of the mid-20th century for the psychological depth of his
characters, his use of language, and the sophisticated imagery he employed. Several of his
novels have been made into movies and television pilots including: The Moving Target (filmed
as Harper with Paul Newman), The Drowning Pool (also filmed with Paul Newman), and The
Underground Man (television series pilot). He won the 1965 CWA Gold Dagger Award for The Far
Side of the Dollar among other awards. Millar published eighteen novels, short story
collections, and many omnibus editions featuring the character of Lew Archer. In 1980,
Millar was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and he died of complications of the disease
in Santa Barbara on July 11, 1983.
A collection of material assembled by Philip D. Nathanson related to the writer Kenneth
Millar (Ross Macdonald). The collection includes drafts of novels, notebooks, screenplays,
book reviews, essays, correspondence, and ephemera. The manuscript material includes drafts,
notes, and introductions for the novels Black Money, The Galton Case, The Instant Enemy, and
The Underground Man. Significant correspondents and companies in the collection include,
among others: Don Freeman, Lydia Freeman, Douglas Heyes, Walter Hill, Marc Jaffe, Robert R.
Kirsch, Margaret Millar, Dorothy Olding, Lorenzo Semple, Jr., Jack Smith, Harold Norling
Swanson, Tracy Keenan Wynn, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., and Harold Ober Associates.
Processed by Gayle M. Richardson in August 2022.
Organized in the following series: 1. Manuscripts; 2. Correspondence; 3. Ephemera.
A collection of books, primarily first editions and presentation copies of Kenneth Millar's
own works and books by other authors collected by Millar, were transferred to the printed
book collection; volumes are individually cataloged and can be found by searching the
Huntington Library Catalog.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Authors, American -- 20th century -- Fiction
Detective and mystery stories, American -- 20th century
Detectives -- California -- Fiction
World War, 1939-1945
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Fiction
Detective and mystery fiction -- United States -- 20th
century
Ephemera -- United States -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 20th century
Manuscripts -- United States -- 20th century
Reviews (documents) -- United States -- 20th century
Screenplays -- United States -- 20th century
Freeman, Don,
1908-1978
Freeman, Lydia
Heyes, Douglas,
1919-1993
Hill, Walter,
1942-
Jaffe, Marc
Kirsch, Robert R.,
1922-1980
Millar, Margaret,
1915-1994
Olding, Dorothy, 1910-1997
Semple, Lorenzo, Jr.,
1923-2014
Smith, Jack,
1916-1996
Swanson, H. N.
Wynn, Tracy
Keenan
Harold Ober
Associates