World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

John D. MacDonald

ジョン・D・マクドナルド

John D. MacDonald

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1916-07-24 （Sharon, Pennsylvania, U.S.）
Died
1986-12-28 （Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.） age 70
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Sharon, Pennsylvania (birth) → Utica, New York (1926–1951) → Sarasota, Florida (from 1951)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Short story writer
Active Years
1945-1986
Influenced
Randy Wayne White, James W. Hall, Les Standiford, Tim Dorsey, Nathaniel Philbrick (praised)

Education

University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School, attended)
Wharton School
Period: 1934–1935（中退）
Country: United States
Left during sophomore year
Syracuse University
Degree: 学士
Period: 1936–1938
Year of Graduation: 1938
Country: United States
Met Dorothy Prentiss and married
Harvard University (MBA)
Degree: MBA
Period: 1938–1939
Year of Graduation: 1939
Country: United States
Received MBA

Awards

Grand Master Award
1972
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Deep Blue Good-by

1964 Hard-boiled / Detective fiction

First book starring Travis McGee, a 'salvage consultant' who recovers property for a fee; establishes the series' tone and Florida settings.

Florida settingMoral ambiguityCapitalism and corruption

The Executioners (published as Cape Fear)

1957 Suspense / Thriller

A suspense novel about a vengeful ex-convict stalking a family; adapted as Cape Fear in 1962 and remade in 1991.

RevengeFamily and fearBoundaries of law and personal justice
Adaptations
  • [Film] Cape Fear (1962) / J. Lee Thompson (1962)
  • [Film] Cape Fear (1991) / Martin Scorsese (1991)

Darker Than Amber

1966 Detective / Action

A Travis McGee novel; adapted into a 1970 film starring Rod Taylor as Travis McGee.

FriendshipViolence and redemptionFlorida landscape
Adaptations
  • [Film] Darker Than Amber (1970) / Robert Clouse (1970)

Bibliography

  • The Deep Blue Good-by (1964)
  • The Executioners (1957)
  • Darker Than Amber (1966)
  • Travis McGee series (21 novels)
  • Numerous standalone novels and short story collections

Adaptations

  • The Executioners → film Cape Fear (1962, 1991)
  • Soft Touch → film Man-Trap (1961)
  • Darker Than Amber → film (1970)
  • Various TV and film adaptations and attempts of the Travis McGee series

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Clear, explanatory narrationBlend of hard-boiled crime and social criticismPage-turning entertainment
Recurring Motifs
Florida coast and the seaHouseboat (the Busted Flush)Color-themed titlesCritiques of capitalism and corruption

Health

  • Complications from coronary artery bypass surgery
    1986年12月
    Slipped into a coma after surgery and died on December 28, 1986

Legacy

Highly regarded as a prolific crime and suspense author, best known for the Travis McGee series. He influenced many Florida-based mystery writers and sold an estimated 70 million books.

Academic Societies

  • Mystery Writers of America (recipient of the Grand Master Award)

Archives

  • John D. MacDonald Collection at the University of Florida

In Popular Culture

  • Literary landmark plaque for the Busted Flush / Slip F-18 at Bahia Mar
  • Reference to McGee and MacDonald in Jimmy Buffett's song 'Incommunicado'

Quotes

  • He is the great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller.
    Source: Stephen King, On Writing (2000) (2000)
  • By any standards a better writer than Saul Bellow, only MacDonald writes thrillers.
    Source: Kingsley Amis (comment, 1971) (1971)
  • Before there were Lee Child and Carl Hiaasen, there was MacDonald — as prescient and verbally precise as anyone writing today can possibly hope to be.
    Source: Nathaniel Philbrick, The New York Times Book Review (2016) (2016)

Trivia

  • Estimated to have sold 70 million books in his lifetime.
  • A literary landmark plaque commemorates the fictional Slip F-18 (Busted Flush) associated with Travis McGee.
  • The Executioners was adapted as Cape Fear in 1962 and remade in 1991.