Comprehensive information and links about Alistair MacLean

Alistair MacLean (April 28, 1922 - February 2, 1987) was a Scottish novelist, writer of successful thrillers or adventures, the best known of which is perhaps

Life

MacLean was the son of a minister, and learned English as his second language after his mother tongue Scottish Gaelic. He was born in Glasgow but spent much of his childhood and youth in Daviot, near Inverness.

He joined the Royal Navy in 1941, serving in World War II with the ranks of Ordinary Seaman, Able Seaman, and Leading Torpedo Operator. First he was assigned to , a converted excursion ship fitting for anti-aircraft guns, in duties off the coasts of England and Scotland. From 1943, he served on he saw action in 1943 in the Atlantic theatre, on two Arctic convoys and escorting carrier groups in operations against and other targets off the Norweigan coast; in 1944 in the Mediterrean theatre, as part of the invasion of southern France and in helping to sink blockade runners off Crete and bombard Milos in the Aegean Sea (during this time MacLean may have been injured in a gunnery practice accident); and in 1945, in the Far East theatre, escorting carrier groups in operations against Japanese targets in Burma, Malaya, and Sumatra. (MacLean's late-in-life claims that in this last theatre he was captured by the Japanese and tortured have been dismissed by both his son and his biographer as drunken ravings. [Webster p. 191]) After the Japanese surrender, helped evacuate liberated POWs from Changi Prison in Singapore.

MacLean was released from the Royal Navy in 1946. He then studied English at the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1953, and then worked as a school teacher.

While in the University, MacLean began writing short stories for extra income and won a competition in 1954 with the maritime story "Dileas". The publishing company Collins asked him for a novel and he responded with , based on his own war experiences as well as credited insight from his brother Ian, a Master Mariner. The novel was a great success and MacLean was soon able to devote himself entirely to writing war stories, spy stories and other adventures.

In the early 1960s, MacLean published two novels under the pseudonym "Ian Stuart" in order to prove that the popularity of his books was owed to their content rather than to his name on the cover. They sold well, but one must remember that MacLean made no attempt to change his and his fans may easily have recognized him behind the Scottish pseudonym. MacLean's books eventually sold so well that he had to move to Switzerland as a tax exile. From 1963–1966 he was retired from writing while he ran a hotel business in England.

MacLean's later books were not as well received as the earlier ones and, in an attempt to keep his stories in keeping with the time, he sometimes lapsed into overly improbable plots. He also struggled constantly with alcoholism which eventually brought about his death in Munich in 1987. He is buried a few yards from Richard Burton in Céligny, Switzerland. He was married twice and had three sons with his first wife.

Style of writing

Compared to other thriller writers of the time, such as Ian Fleming, MacLean's books are exceptional in one way at least: they have an absent of sex and short on romance because MacLean thought that such diversions merely serve to slow down the action. Nor do they resemble the more recent techno-thriller approach. Instead MacLean lets little hinder the flow of events in his books, making his heroes fight against seemingly unbeatable odds and often pushing them to the limits of their physical and mental endurance. MacLean's heroes are usually calm, cynical men entirely devoted to their work and often carrying some kind of secret knowledge. A characteristic twist is that one of the hero's closest cooperators turns out a traitor.

Nature, especially the sea and the arctic north, plays an important part in MacLean's stories, and he used a variety of exotic parts of the world as settings to his books. Only one of them, , is set in his native Scotland. MacLean's best books are often those in which he was able to make use of his own direct knowledge of warfare and seafare such as which is now considered a classic of naval fiction.

Stylistically MacLean's novels can be broken down into four periods:

ol. These featured third-person narratives and a somewhat epic tone, and were mostly set during World War II. contained overt philosophical and moral themes that were not well received. MacLean then switched gears to —. These all featured first person (and sometimes unreliable) narration laced with a dry, sardonic, self-deprecating humour, and were all set in contemporary times. These are MacLean's most intensely plotted tales, masterfully blending thriller and detective elements. MacLean then retired from writing for three years, returning with —, a varied collection that still maintained a generally high quality, with some books harking back to each of the first two periods but usually taking a more cinematic approach (not surprising since he began writing screenplays during this time). Finally — to the end. There were no more first-person stories, and his prose often sagged badly, with excessive dialogue, lazily described scenes, and poor characterization. Some of the books are better than others, and all sold reasonably well, but MacLean never regained his classic form.

Altogether MacLean published 28 novels and a collection of short stories, as well as books about T. E. Lawrence and James Cook.

MacLean also wrote screenplays, some of them based on his novels and others later novelized by other writers. Around 1980, he was commissioned by an American movie production company to write a series of story outlines to be subsequently produced as movies. Although he did write about a fictitious United Nations organisation, the books were later completed by others. Among these are "Hostage Tower" by John Denis and , especially in their use of gratuitous sex and violence.

Many of MacLean's novels were made into films, but none completely captured the level of detail and the intensity of his writing .

Alistair MacLean was awarded a Doctorate of Literature at the University of Glasgow in 1983.

at the same time. In effect it was commissioned by Richard Burton, who wanted to make a "boy's own" type adventure film that he could take his son to see. The book and screenplay differ markedly in that, in the book, Smith and Schaffer at times go out of their way to kill anyone, whereas in the film they basically shoot anything that moves. In fact, the film contains Clint Eastwood's highest on-screen count. Schaffer's character in the book is also considerably more talkative than Eastwood's version! have identical plots; the "Maclean Formula" used in both is as follows: impregnable fortress which requires a commando team to be sent in; one of the team is not what heshe seems; rendezvous with female operatives already in place; betrayal in a public place; barricade a door for the getaway; mountain climbing; escape by jumping into water; good guys win-- amazingly, all these contrivances work perfectly.MacLean's chief female characters are almost always named some variation of Mary, like Mary itself, Marie, or Maria.Similarly, although to a somewhat lesser degree, a number of MacLean's chief male characters are named John.MacLean was known to reuse plot devices, characterisations, and even specific phrases; for example, the de