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Portrait of Alistair MacLean Photo: Popperfoto via Getty Images (1960)

Sample of authors

MacLean, Alistair

The Scottish author Alistair Stuart MacLean was born in Shettleston, Glasgow, in a Gaelic-speaking family as Alasdair MacGill-Eain (his Gaelic name was anglicised by the British authorities). His father was a Church of Scotland minister. While the author was still a baby, the family moved to a farm near Daviot in the Highlands. After the death of his father, his mother returned to Glasgow with...

Further reading

Literary figures

Parker

Gender: Male

One of the most horrible anti-heroes in crime fiction is the professional criminal and psychopath Parker (he doesn’t have a first name), created by Richard Stark (pseudonym for Donald E. Westlake). He doesn’t have a permanent home, is well-built, his face looks like it has been carved in cement, his hair is brown and stripy, and he kills without any consideration or conscience. The only time he sh...

Further reading