Alistair MacLean

21/04/1922 - 02/02/1987 Tiểu sử Alistair Stuart MacLean was a recognized twentieth century Scottish novelist, best known for writing adventure stories and thrillers. His popular works include Ice Station Zebra and The Guns of Navarone . Born on April 21, 1922, in Glasgow, United Kingdom, MacLean was originally named Alasdair MacGill-Eain in Scottish Gaelic. He was the son of a Scottish minister and a singer. His mother tongue was Scottish Gaelic, so he learned English as a second language. He spent his early years in the Scottish Highlands as his family relocated to Daviot. Upon his father’s demise, he moved back to Glasgow with his mother. He received his early education from Hillhead High, studying English, History, Science and Latin. At the age of eighteen he was drafted into the Royal Navy, in 1941. He was responsible for firing torpedoes during World War II and offered his services in Mediterranean and Eastern Fleets. His novels drew heavily from his marine experiences. Once the war was over he returned home in 1946. Subsequently, he enrolled himself at Glasgow University and earned an English degree. He then began teaching at a secondary school in Rutherglen and in his spare time he took up short story writing. In 1954, Glasgow Herald announced a short story competition in which he participated and won the first prize for writing ‘Dileas’. The story vividly presents the picture of the relentless roughness of the sea. It rendered MacLean to write a novel on the request of a publishing house, Collins. The debut novel, titled H.M.S. Ulysses , was highly inspired by Maclean’s experiences of escorting merchant vessels while serving Royal Navy and also drew on his brother’s insight into marine life. As the novel instantly became a bestseller, Maclean invested all his creative energy in writing spy, war and adventure stories. His highly acclaimed The Guns of Navarone (1957) follows the story of a sabotage team sent to eradicate two giant guns. It was later adapted into an Oscar-winning film in 1961. The sequel to the book, Force 10 from Navarone , came out in 1968. Again it revolves around a mission plot that involves the destruction of a bridge that held vital importance for Nazis. In 1959, MacLean directed his attention toward spy stories instead of war. The Last Frontier is a spy adventure that follows a rescue mission operated by an agent to retrieve an English scientist from the clutches of enemy. MacLean wrote his next two novels under the pen name, Ian Stuart, so as to prove that it is the subject matter rather than his popularity that sold his books. However, his readers recognized him for his unique Scottish literary style. The Satan Bug centers on biochemical warfare and The Dark Crusader focuses on a Polynesian island mission conducted by a secret agent. MacLean was compared to his contemporaries, such as Ian Fleming. The element that sets his books apart from other thriller writers is his focus on the thriller aspect rather than romance. According to him, romantic angle is merely a diversion from the main plot, thus slows down the pace of a novel rendering it a dull read. His protagonists are mostly, tough, cynical and calm under pressure with the single-mindedness to complete their mission. Alistair MacLean continued to write and produced 29 successful novels. He died at the age of 64 on 2 February, 1987 in Munich, Germany. Despite his remarkable contribution, MacLean’s rank on the popularity chart took a nosedive posthumously and his books went out of print. Source: www.famousauthors.org/ alistair - maclean Tác phẩm tiêu biểu Xem thêm