Alistair Maclean

Alistair Maclean

Alistair Maclean

Alistair Maclean

Alistair Maclean

b. 1922 - d. 1987

Alistair Maclean books are often divided into four phases in his life:

  • 1955 (HMS Ulysses) - 1959 (The Last Frontier)
  • 1960 (Ice Station Zebra) - 1965 (The Satan Bug)
  • 1966 (When Eight Bells Toll) - 1971 (Bear Island)
  • 1973 (The Way to Dusty Death) - 1986 (Santonrini)
It is interesting to note that the couple of books he wrote under the pseudonym Ian Stuart cam just after phase 1. The latter books (phase 4) are considered by some to be weaker - however they include several which were made into films and perhpas should be seen as a change in penmanship - a more relaxed 'ripping yarn' compared to the taughter earlier books.


Alistair MacLean
Scottish writer (1922–1987)

Alistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably The Guns of Navarone (1957) and Ice Station Zebra (1963). In the late 1960s, encouraged by film producer Elliott Kastner, MacLean began to write original screenplays, concurrently with an accompanying novel. The most successful was the first of these, the 1968 film Where Eagles Dare, which was also a bestselling novel. MacLean also published two novels under the pseudonym Ian Stuart. His books are estimated to have sold over 150 million copies, making him one of the best-selling fiction authors of all time.

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Timeline for Alistair Maclean

1922

Alistair Maclean born.

1941

Joined the Royal Navy

1943

Saw action in the Atlantic

1944

Served in the Mediterranean

1945

Served in the Far East

1946

Discharged from the Navy

1953

Graduated in English at Glasgow University

1963

Bought Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor and ran it for 3 years
Lawrence of Arabia

1980

Athabasca

1982

Partisans

1983

Awarded Doctor of Letters by the University of Glasgow
Floodgate

1986

Santorini

1987

Alistair Maclean died.