Alistair MacLean

Alistair MacLean
Alistair MacLean, late in life
Born	Alistair Stuart MacLean (1922-04-21)21 April 1922 Shettleston, Glasgow, Scotland
Died	2 February 1987(1987-02-02) (aged 64) Munich, Germany
Cause of death	Series of strokes
Resting place	Céligny, Switzerland
Residence	UK Switzerland
Nationality	Scottish
Other names	Ian Stuart
Education	Daviot local system Inverness Royal Academy Hillhead High School
Alma mater	University of Glasgow
Occupation	Author and teacher
Years active	1955 to 1986
Employer	Royal Navy (1941–1946) Gallowflat School (1946–1956)
Known for	Thrillers
Home town	Shettleston
Net worth	£73,347 (at death)[1]
Height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Spouse(s)	Gisela Heinrichsen (1953–1972) Mary Marcelle Georgius (1972–1977)
Children	Three sons (one adopted) with Gisela
Parent(s)	Revd Alistair MacLean and Mary Lamont

Alistair Stuart MacLean (Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair MacGill-Eain; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. His works include The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare – all three were made into popular films. He also wrote two novels under the pseudonym Ian Stuart.

Early life & family

Alistair Maclean was descended from Clan Maclean.

MacLean was the son of a Church of Scotland minister^[2] and learned English as a second language after his mother tongue, Scottish Gaelic. He was born in Glasgow but spent much of his childhood and youth in Daviot, ten miles south of Inverness. He was the third of four sons.

He joined the Royal Navy in 1941, serving in World War II with the ranks of Ordinary Seaman, Able Seaman, and Leading Torpedo Operator. He was first assigned to PS Bournemouth Queen, a converted excursion ship fitted for anti-aircraft guns, on duty off the coasts of England and Scotland. Beginning in 1943, he served on HMS Royalist, a Dido-class light cruiser. There he saw action in 1943 in the Atlantic theatre, on two Arctic convoys and escorting carrier groups in operations against Tirpitz and other targets off the Norwegian coast. In 1944 he and HMS Royalist served in the Mediterranean theatre, as part of the invasion of southern France and in helping to sink blockade runners off Crete and bombard Milos in the Aegean. During this time MacLean may have been injured in a gunnery practice accident. In 1945, in the Far East theatre, MacLean and Royalist saw action escorting carrier groups in operations against Japanese targets in Burma, Malaya, and Sumatra. (MacLean's late-in-life claims that he was captured by the Japanese and tortured have been dismissed by both his son and his biographer as drunken ravings.^[3]) After the Japanese surrender, Royalist helped evacuate liberated POWs from Changi Prison in Singapore.

MacLean was discharged from the Royal Navy in 1946. He then studied English at the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1953. He briefly worked as a hospital porter, and then worked as a school teacher in at Gallow Flat School in Rutherglen.^[4]

While a university student, MacLean began writing short stories for extra income, winning a competition in 1954 with the maritime story "Dileas". The publishing company Collins asked him for a novel and he responded with HMS Ulysses, based on his own war experiences, as well as credited insight from his brother Ian, a Master Mariner. The novel was successful, selling 250,000 copies in six months, and MacLean was able to devote himself to writing.^[5][4] His next novel, The Guns of Navarone, was very successful, selling over 400,000 copies in its first six months.

In the early 1960s, MacLean published two novels under the pseudonym "Ian Stuart" in order to prove that the popularity of his books was due to their content rather than his name on the cover. They sold well, and MacLean made no attempt to change his writing style. MacLean's books eventually sold so well that he moved to Switzerland as a tax exile in 1956. From 1963–1966, he took a hiatus from writing to run a hotel business in England, purchasing the Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor.^[6][7]

MacLean's later books were not as well received as the earlier publications and, in an attempt to keep his stories in keeping with the time, he sometimes lapsed into unduly improbable plots. He also struggled constantly with alcoholism,^[8] which eventually brought about his death in Munich on 2 February 1987.^[9] As reported in the newspaper he died of a stroke. He is buried a few yards from Richard Burton in Céligny, Switzerland. He was married twice and had two sons by his first wife, as well as an adopted third son.

MacLean was awarded a Doctor of Letters by the University of Glasgow in 1983.

Reception

Algis Budrys described MacLean's writing style as "hit 'em with everything but the kitchen sink, then give 'em the sink, and when they raise their heads, drop the plumber on 'em".^[10]

List of works

Novels

Source for The New York Times Best Seller list: "Adult New York Times Best Seller Listings". Hawes Publications. Retrieved August 30, 2014. Figures are for the Adult Hardcover Fiction lists, 1956 through 1987: highest position reached and total number of weeks on list. A "—" indicates it did not make the list. Note that the Times list consisted of a Top 10 from 1963 through 1976, but a Top 15 or 16 before and after; thus, books during that middle period may have had longer stays relative to the others.

A collection of MacLean's fiction works from 1955 to 1971, published by Heron Books (London) in the mid-1970s

UNACO books by other authors

Golden Girl series by other authors

Films with screenplay contribution

Other films

Allegedly written by Alistair MacLean

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• Alistair MacLean on IMDb
• Harper dares with Alistair MacLean reissue, 2009.09.11

See also

• Hammond Innes