Edgar Allan Poe Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 0 (1983) Winner
Margaret Millar
マーガレット・エリス・ミラー
Margaret Ellis Millar
Aliases:
Margaret Sturm / Margaret Ellis Sturm
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1915-02-05 （Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario, Canada）
- Died
- 1994-03-26 （Santa Barbara, California, USA） age 79
- Nationality
- Canadian, American
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Kitchener (formerly Berlin), Ontario, Canada → Santa Barbara, California, USA
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, mystery writer, short story writer
- Active Years
- 1941-1986
- Affiliations
- Santa Barbara Audubon Society, National Audubon Society, Mystery Writers of America
- Memberships
- Mystery Writers of America
- Influenced By
- Dorothy L. Sayers, early 20th-century psychological detective fiction writers
- Influenced
- later psychological mystery writers
- Nominations
- Edgar Award Best Novel nominations (multiple, years not specified)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School | — | — | — | — | Canada |
| University of Toronto | — | — | — | — | Canada |
Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School
Country:
Canada
University of Toronto
Country:
Canada
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Edgar Award (Best Novel) | Beast in View | 最優秀長編 | Mystery Writers of America | 受賞 |
| 1965 | Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year Award | — | — | Los Angeles Times | 受賞 |
| 1983 | Grand Master Award | — | 生涯功労 | Mystery Writers of America | 受賞 |
Edgar Award (Best Novel)
1956
Work:
Beast in View
Category:
最優秀長編
Organization:
Mystery Writers of America
Result:
受賞
Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year Award
1965
Organization:
Los Angeles Times
Result:
受賞
Grand Master Award
1983
Category:
生涯功労
Organization:
Mystery Writers of America
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Beast in View
1955 mystery / suspenseA psychological mystery set in a quiet community, exploring isolation and signs of mental unraveling through detailed character study; notable for its surprising ending.
isolationloss of realityclass distinctionswomen's psychology
Adaptations
- [television (anthology)] Alfred Hitchcock Presents (episode adaptation)
The Iron Gates
1945 psychological mysteryDepicts a protagonist's gradual detachment from reality; focuses on the inner progression toward madness.
mental breakdownisolationwomen's psychology
Adaptations
- [film (optioned)] The Iron Gates (optioned by Warner Brothers)
Rose's Last Summer
1952 mysteryA mystery entwined with interpersonal relationships and the influence of past events, centered on psychological characterization.
shadows of the pastinterpersonal relationshipsmoral ambiguity
Adaptations
- [television (anthology)] Alfred Hitchcock Presents (episode adaptation)
The Invisible Worm
1941 mysteryAn early Paul Prye detective novel combining character portraiture with genre puzzle elements.
detective fictioncharacter study
Bibliography
- The Invisible Worm (1941)
- The Weak-Eyed Bat (1942)
- The Devil Loves Me (1942)
- Wall of Eyes (1943)
- The Iron Gates (1945)
- Experiment in Springtime (1947)
- It's All in the Family (1948)
- The Cannibal Heart (1949)
- Fire Will Freeze (1944)
- Do Evil in Return (1950)
- Rose's Last Summer (1952)
- Vanish in an Instant (1952)
- Beast in View (1955)
- An Air That Kills / The Soft Talkers (1957)
- The Listening Walls (1959)
- A Stranger in My Grave (1960)
- How Like an Angel (1962)
- The Fiend (1964)
- Beyond This Point Are Monsters (1970)
- Ask for Me Tomorrow (1976)
- The Murder of Miranda (1979)
- Mermaid (1982)
- Banshee (1983)
- Spider Webs (1986)
- The Birds and the Beasts Were There (1968) (memoir)
Adaptations
- Beast in View - adapted for Alfred Hitchcock Presents (television anthology)
- Rose's Last Summer - adapted for Alfred Hitchcock Presents / Thriller (television anthology)
- Radio episodes (from The Birds and the Beasts Were There: 'Chaparral' and 'White Pelican')
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- deep psychological characterizationexpressive yet economical prosesociological context woven into narrative
- Recurring Motifs
- lonelinessclass distinctionsmoral ambiguityborderline between reality and madness
Legacy
Margaret Millar is recognized for psychologically rich mystery fiction and as a pioneer in exploring women's psychology and social themes; her lifetime achievements were honored with the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award.
Academic Societies
- Mystery Writers of America
Archives
- Guide to the Margaret Millar Papers - Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries
In Popular Culture
- Inclusion of Beast In View in H.R.F. Keating's Crime & Mystery: The 100 Best
- Soho Syndicate omnibus reissues (since 2016)
Quotes
-
Margaret Millar is surely one of late twentieth-century crime fiction's best writers, in the sense that the actual writing in her books, the prose, is of superb quality.
Source: H.R.F. Keating, Crime & Mystery: The 100 Best (1987) (1987)
Trivia
- Born Margaret Ellis Sturm.
- Married to Kenneth Millar (Ross Macdonald); the couple lived for decades in Santa Barbara.
- Their daughter Linda died in 1970.
- The Iron Gates was optioned by Warner Brothers but was never produced as a film.
- An avid birdwatcher; founding member and conservation chair of the Santa Barbara Audubon Society.