Margaret Ellis Millar

An award winning writer of psychological novels, Margaret Millar was born in Berlin, the daughter of Henry and Lavenia Sturm. After graduating from K-W Collegiate, she attended University of Toronto. In 1938 she married Kenneth Millar, who also became a widely acclaimed writer of psychological mysteries, using the pseudonym of Ross Macdonald. When her husband joined the US Navy, she moved to California and has lived there ever since.

The Invisible Worm, her first published novel, was written in 1941, while she was confined to bed with a heart condition. Her early novels were located in Toronto and her first popular detective was a member of the Toronto Police force. Beast in View, won the Edgar Allan Poe award for best novel of 1955 from the Mystery Writers of America, which also elected her to its coveted roll of Grand Masters in 1983. Her only nonfiction book, The Birds and the Beasts Were There, was written in support of her interest in the environment. She also wrote stories and television plays.