Millar, Margaret (1915–1994)
Millar, Margaret (1915–1994)
Canadian-born writer of mystery novels. Born Margaret Sturm, Feb 5, 1915, in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada; died Mar 26, 1994, at her home in Santa Barbara, CA; attended Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate Institute; attended University of Toronto, 1933–36; m. Kenneth Millar (writer of detective novels under pseudonym Ross Macdonald), 1938 (died 1983); children: Linda Millar.
Published 1st novel, The Invisible Worm (1941), introducing psychiatrist-detective Dr. Paul Prye, a central character in many succeeding novels, including The Weak-Eyed Bat (1942) and The Iron Gates (1945); after WWII, moved to Santa Barbara, which she began to use as her fictional setting; worked as screenwriter for Warner Bros.(1945–46); won Edgar Award from Mystery Writers of America for A Beast in View (1955); served as president of Mystery Writers of America (1957–58); was active with husband in California's conservation movement (1960s) and collected wildlife observations in The Birds and the Beasts Were There (1968); won Edgar Allan Poe Award for The Banshee (1983); won Grand Master Award from Mystery Writers of America (1983); other writings include The Devil Loves Me (1942), The Wallof Eyes (1943), Wives and Lovers (1954), 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) and Spider Webs (1986).