Evan Hunter Biography
Evan Hunter comments:
Pseudonyms: Curt Cannon; Hunt Collins; Ezra Hannon; Richard Marsten; and Ed McBain. Nationality: American. Born: Salvatore A. Lombino, New York City, 1926. Education: Evander Childs High School, New York; Cooper Union, New York, 1943-44; Hunter College, New York, B.A. 1950 (Phi Beta Kappa). Military Service: United States Navy, 1944-46. Career: In the early 1950s taught in vocational high schools and worked for Scott Meredith Literary Agency, New York. Lives in Norwalk, Connecticut. Awards: Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe award, 1957, and Grand Master award, 1985. Agent: John Farquharson Ltd., 250 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10107, U.S.A.; or, 162-168 Regent Street, London, W1R 5TB, England.
PUBLICATIONS
Novels
The Big Fix. N.p., Falcon, 1952; as So Nude, So Dead (as RichardMarsten), New York, Fawcett, 1956.
The Evil Sleep! N.p., Falcon, 1952
Don't Crowd Me. New York, Popular Library, 1953; London, Consul, 1960; as The Paradise Party, London, New English Library, 1968.
Cut Me In (as Hunt Collins). New York, Abelard Schuman, 1954;London, Boardman, 1960; as The Proposition, New York, Pyramid, 1955.
The Blackboard Jungle. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1954;London, Constable, 1955.
Second Ending. New York, Simon and Schuster, and London, Constable, 1956; as Quartet in H, New York, Pocket Books, 1957.
Tomorrow's World (as Hunt Collins). New York, Avalon, 1956; asTomorrow and Tomorrow, New York, Pyramid, 1956; as Ed McBain, London, Sphere, 1979.
Strangers When We Meet. New York, Simon and Schuster, andLondon, Constable, 1958.
I'm Cannon—For Hire (as Curt Cannon). New York, Fawcett, 1958;London, Fawcett, 1959.
A Matter of Conviction. New York, Simon and Schuster, and London, Constable, 1959; as The Young Savages, New York, Pocket Books, 1966.
Mothers and Daughters. New York, Simon and Schuster, and London, Constable, 1961.
Buddwing. New York, Simon and Schuster, and London, Constable, 1964.
The Paper Dragon. New York, Delacorte Press, 1966; London, Constable, 1967.
A Horse's Head. New York, Delacorte Press, 1967; London, Constable, 1968.
Last Summer, New York, Doubleday, 1968; London, Constable, 1969.
Sons. New York, Doubleday, 1969; London, Constable, 1970.
Nobody Knew They Were There. New York, Doubleday, and London, Constable, 1972.
Every Little Crook and Nanny. New York, Doubleday, and London, Constable, 1972.
Come Winter. New York, Doubleday, and London, Constable, 1973.
Streets of Gold. New York, Harper, 1974; London, Macmillan, 1975.
Doors (as Ezra Hannon). New York, Stein and Day, 1975; London, Macmillan, 1976
The Chisholms: A Novel of the Journey West. New York, Harper, andLondon, Hamish Hamilton, 1976.
Walk Proud. New York, Bantam, 1979.
Love, Dad. New York, Crown, and London, Joseph, 1981.
Far from the Sea. New York, Atheneum, and London, HamishHamilton, 1983.
Lizzie. New York, Arbor House, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1984.
Criminal Conversation. New York, Warner, 1994.
Privileged Conversation. New York, Warner Books, 1996.
Me and Hitch. London and Boston, Faber and Faber, 1997.
Novels as Richard Marsten
Runaway Black. New York, Fawcett, 1954; London, Red Seal, 1957.
Murder in the Navy. New York, Fawcett, 1955; as Death of a Nurse(as Ed McBain), New York, Pocket Books, 1968; London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1972.
The Spiked Heel. New York, Holt, 1956; London, Constable, 1957.
Vanishing Ladies. New York, Permabooks, 1957; London, Boardman, 1961.
Even the Wicked. New York, Permabooks, 1958; as Ed McBain, London, Severn House, 1979.
Big Man. New York, Pocket Books, 1959; as Ed McBain. London, Penguin, 1978.
Novels as Ed McBain
Cop Hater. New York, Permabooks, 1956; London, Boardman, 1958.
The Mugger. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1956: London, Boardman, 1959.
The Pusher. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1956; London, Boardman, 1959.
The Con Man. New York, Permabooks, 1957; London, Boardman, 1960.
Killer's Choice. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1958; London, Boardman, 1960.
Killer's Payoff. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1958; London, Boardman, 1960.
April Robin Murders, with Craig Rice (completed by McBain). NewYork, Random House, 1958; London, Hammond, 1959.
Lady Killer. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1958; London, Boardman, 1961.
Killer's Wedge. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1959; LondonBoardman, 1961.
'Til Death. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1959; London, Boardman, 1961.
King's Ransom. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1959; London, Boardman, 1961.
Give the Boys a Great Big Hand. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1960; London, Boardman, 1962.
The Heckler. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1960; London, Boardman, 1962.
See Them Die. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1960; London, Boardman, 1963.
Lady, Lady, I Did It! New York, Simon and Schuster, 1961; London, Boardman, 1963.
Like Love. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1962; London, HamishHamilton, 1964.
Ten Plus One. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1963; London, Hamish Hamilton, 1964.
Ax. New York, Simon and Schuster, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1964.
The Sentries. New York, Simon and Schuster, and London, HamishHamilton, 1965.
He Who Hesitates. New York, Delacorte Press, and London, HamishHamilton, 1965.
Doll. New York, Delacorte Press, 1965; London, Hamish Hamilton, 1966.
Eighty Million Eyes. New York, Delacorte Press, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1966.
Fuzz. New York, Doubleday, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1968.
Shotgun. New York, Doubleday, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1969.
Jigsaw. New York, Doubleday, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1970.
Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here! New York, Doubleday, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1971.
Sadie When She Died. New York, Doubleday, and London, HamishHamilton, 1972.
Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man. New York, Doubleday, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1973.
Hail to the Chief. New York, Random House, and London, HamishHamilton, 1973.
Bread. New York, Random House, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1974.
Where There's Smoke. New York, Random House, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1975.
Blood Relatives. New York, Random House, 1975; London, HamishHamilton, 1976.
Guns. New York, Random House, 1976; London, Hamish Hamilton, 1977.
So Long as You Both Shall Live. New York, Random House, andLondon, Hamish Hamilton, 1976.
Long Time No See. New York, Random House, and London, HamishHamilton, 1977.
Goldilocks. New York, Arbor House, 1977; London, Hamish Hamilton, 1978.
Calypso. New York, Viking Press, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1979.
Ghosts. New York, Viking Press, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1980.
Rumpelstiltskin. New York, Viking Press, and London, HamishHamilton, 1981.
Beauty and the Beast. London, Hamish Hamilton, 1982; New York, Holt Rinehart, 1983.
Ice. New York, Arbor House, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1983
Jack and the Beanstalk. New York, Holt Rinehart, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1984.
Lightning. New York, Arbor House, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1984.
Snow White and Rose Red. New York, Holt Rinehart, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1985.
Eight Black Horses. New York, Arbor House, and London, HamishHamilton, 1985.
Another Part of the City. New York, Mysterious Press, 1985; London, Hamish Hamilton, 1986.
Cinderella. New York, Holt, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1986.
Poison. New York, Arbor House, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1987.
Puss in Boots. New York, Holt, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1987.
Lullaby. New York, Morrow, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1987.
The House That Jack Built. New York, Holt, and London, HamishHamilton, 1988.
Downtown. New York, Morrow, and London, Heinemann, 1989.
Three Blind Mice. New York, Arcade, 1990.
Vespers. New York, Morrow, and London, Heinemann, 1990.
Widows. London, Heinemann, 1991.
Kiss. London, Heinemann, 1992.
Mary, Mary. London, Heinemann, 1992.
Mischief. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1993.
The Last Dance. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1999.
Short Stories
The Jungle Kids. New York, Pocket Books, 1956.
I Like 'em Tough (as Curt Cannon). New York, Fawcett, 1958
The Last Spin and Other Stories. London, Constable, 1960.
The Empty Hours (as Ed McBain). New York, Simon and Schuster, 1962; London, Boardman, 1963.
Happy New Year, Herbie, and Other Stories. New York, Simon andSchuster, 1963; London, Constable, 1965.
The Beheading and Other Stories. London, Constable, 1971.
The Easter Man (a Play) and Six Stories. New York, Doubleday, 1972; as Seven, London, Constable, 1972.
The McBain Brief. London, Hamish Hamilton, 1982; New York, Arbor House, 1983.
McBain's Ladies: The Women of the 87th Precinct. New York, Mysterious Press, and London, Hamish Hamilton, 1988.
McBain's Ladies Too. New York, Mysterious Press, 1989; London, Hamish Hamilton, 1990.
Barking at Butterflies, and Other Stories. Unity, Maine, Five Star, 2000.
Running from Legs and Other Stories. Unity, Maine, Five Star, 2000.
Uncollected Short Stories
"Ticket to Death," in Best Detective Stories of the Year 1955, edited by David Coxe Cooke. New York, Dutton, 1955.
"Classification: Dead" (as Richard Marsten), in Dames, Danger, and Death, edited by Leo Margulies. New York, Pyramid, 1960.
"Easy Money," in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (New York), September 1960.
"Nightshade" (as Ed McBain) in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine(New York), August 1970.
"Someone at the Door," in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (NewYork), October 1971.
"Sympathy for the Devil," in Seventeen (New York), July 1972.
"Weeping for Dustin," in Seventeen (New York), July 1973.
"The Analyst," in Playboy (Chicago), December 1974.
"Dangerous Affair," in Good Housekeeping (New York), March1975.
"Eighty Million Eyes" (as Ed McBain), in Ellery Queen's Giants of Mystery. New York, Davis, 1976.
"Stepfather," in Ladies' Home Journal (New York), June 1976.
"What Happened to Annie Barnes?," in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (New York), June 1976.
Plays
The Easter Man (produced Birmingham and London, 1964; as A Race of Hairy Men, produced New York, 1965). Included in The Easter Man (a Play) and Six Stories, 1972.
The Conjuror (produced Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1969).
Screenplays:
Strangers When We Meet, 1960; The Birds, 1963; Fuzz, 1972; Walk Proud, 1979.
Television Plays:
Appointment at Eleven (Alfred Hitchcock Presents series), 1955-61; The Chisholms series, from his own novel, 1978-79; The Legend of Walks Far Woman, 1982.
Other (for children)
Find the Feathered Serpent. Philadelphia, Winston, 1952.
Rocket to Luna (as Richard Marsten). Philadelphia, Winston, 1952;London, Hutchinson, 1954.
Danger: Dinosaurs! (as Richard Marsten). Philadelphia, Winston, 1953.
The Remarkable Harry. New York and London, Abelard Schuman, 1961.
The Wonderful Button. New York, Abelard Schuman, 1961; London, Abelard Schuman, 1962.
Me and Mr. Stenner. Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1976; London, HamishHamilton, 1977.
Other (as Ed McBain)
Editor, Crime Squad. London, New English Library, 1968.
Editor, Homicide Department. London, New English Library, 1968.
Editor, Downpour. London, New English Library, 1969.
Editor, Ticket to Death. London, New English Library, 1969.
*
Manuscript Collections:
Mugar Memorial Library, Boston University.
Critical Studies:
Neither Seen the Picture Nor Read the Book: Literary References in Ed McBain's 87th Precinct Series: Homage to Ed McBain/Evan Hunter on His Seventieth Anniversary, October 15, 1996 by Ted Bergman. Grover Park, 1996.
(1972) The novels I write under my own name are concerned mostly with identity, or at least they have been until the most recent book. (I cannot now predict what will interest or concern me most in the future.) I change my style with each novel, to fit the tone, the mood, and the narrative voice. I have always considered a strong story to be the foundation of any good novel, and I also apply this rule to the mysteries I write under the Ed McBain pseudonym. Unlike my "serious" novels, however, the style here is unvaried. The series characters are essentially the same throughout (although new detectives appear or old ones disappear from time to time, and each new case involves a new criminal or criminals). The setting is the same (the precinct and the city), and the theme is the same—crime and punishment. (I look upon these mysteries, in fact, as one long novel about crime and punishment, with each separate book in the series serving as a chapter.) I enjoy writing both types of novels, and consider each equally representative of my work.
* * *
The vividness and immediacy of the author's prose, coupled with the timeliness of his subject, drew considerable attention to Evan Hunter's novel The Blackboard Jungle. This story of a young teacher confronting the brutal realities of a big city vocational high school was praised for its realism and for opening to fiction an area of public concern that had begun to attract national attention in the United States. Second Ending was an even more aggressively topical novel, tracing the effects of drugs on four young New Yorkers. The central character, a young trumpet player who has been addicted for two years, draws the other characters together, and they are all altered in some way by his descent toward death. Some of the novel's episodes, which were termed "sensational" at the time of publication, now no longer seem so unique, and despite the awkwardness with which portions of the novel are narrated. Hunter's power as a storyteller moved his characters unerringly toward the slough of mutual desperation.
In Strangers When We Meet Hunter elected to describe a more muted kind of action in which a young architect, happily married and the father of two children, drifts into an affair with a suburban neighbor. Hunter showed a keen eye for the minute details that slowly gather round the illicit relationship, creating a highly realistic impression of a young man unable to cope with conflicting loyalties. Nonetheless, his characters finally seem insignificant—certainly not sufficiently strong to carry the philosophical baggage that the author gives them in an improbable conclusion.
A Matter of Conviction was a return to the mode of social protest that Hunter had developed so successfully in his two earlier novels. A polemic against the forces in society that make young men into killers, it was too contrived to offer more than passing interest. Mothers and Daughters, which chronicles the youth and maturity of four middle-class women—their dreams and their loves—is a more substantial work, despite its occasional melodrama.
Much of Hunter's fiction is over-written: striving for a realistic thickness, it bogs down in minutiae, and while the author writes with a high and consistent degree of professionalism, his vision rarely penetrates beneath the elaborate surfaces that his prose projects. Last Summer is a major exception to this adroit verbosity. It is told with an unforgettable simplicity and directness, which nonetheless conveys the author's own highly sophisticated point of view. During a summer holiday two teenage boys and a girl explore an Atlantic island, tell each other the "truth," and dominate a shy young girl. Their experiences end in violence, which vividly symbolizes the moral degeneracy of their society.
Few contemporary writers can match the versatility and consummate professionalism of Evan Hunter. His work includes a highly successful series of detective novels published under the pseudonym of Ed McBain; a science-fiction novel for children; a comic cops-and-robbers novel, A Horse's Head, written with great inventiveness and wit; and a spirited children's book in verse, illustrated by his own sons. Sons tells the story of three generations of a Wisconsin family, powerfully challenging some of the basic presumptions of the American Dream; The Paper Dragon is a densely plotted intriguing story of a five-day plagiarism trial; and Buddwing plunges its amnesiac hero into the heart of a Washington Square riot, a hold-up, and a crap game. Nobody Knew They Were There takes a futuristic look at the innate forces of violence that assail man's attempt to achieve world peace.
In Privileged Conversation, Hunter somewhat sketchily tells the tale of a New York stalker who invades the furtive affair of a married psychiatrist and a woman he has met in Central Park. The Last Dance marks the 50th novel of the 87th Precinct in Isola, his (that is, McBain's) fictional New York. Throughout a varied and highly prolific career, Hunter has produced a body of work distinguished for its sound craftsmanship, although only one of his novels, Last Summer, clearly demonstrates the art which such craft should sustain.
—David Galloway
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