Monday, April 11, 2016

Travis McGee Chronology Update

April and May are typically very busy months for me, both at work and home, and I usually end up missing a week or two of blogging during this period. This year will be even more extreme, as my wife and I welcomed grandchild number three to the family a few days ago. So don't be surprised to see a week go by with no update here, or one requiring only a little time and effort to put together (like last week's).

This week I updated a previous posting, "The Chronology of the Travis McGee Novels," with a couple of paragraphs of facts and figures that lead me to a completely different conclusion. You can click here, or the link in the Resources box in the right column.

3 comments:

  1. I notice that three titles are missing from the chronology: FREE FALL IN CRIMSON, CINNAMON SKIN, and THE LONELY SILVER RAIN. I assume this is because their positions in the timeline are more or less self-evident.

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    Replies
    1. Mike, those three titles were published after the article was written.

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  2. Dear Steve,

    I thought you might be interested in a couple of things that have been happening recently in the world of John D MacDonald:

    First MacDonald’s Point Crisp Home is up for Sale

    The house is located on Point Crisp, a small peninsula that extends into Sarasota Bay from Siesta Key, more or less where Sanderling is located. The setting is incredible—it’s right in the middle of the bay, with full water views to the north and the south. It’s one of the last original houses on the Point—there are 16 in all--with its neighbors now mansions that go for seven million plus.

    JDM wrote in a little room above the garage. It’s the most “Old Florida” working space imaginable and it’s easy to see how the author’s sense of Florida’s ecology became so important to his work—he was looking at it constantly.

    Read more at:

    https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/articles/2016/4/7/john-d-macdonald-point-crisp-home-is-for-sale

    Second, and more sadly, Travis McGee and his Busted Flush evicted from Fort Lauderdale marina

    The Busted Flush has gone bust. The bronze plaque commemorating Fort Lauderdale’s most famous resident, however fictional, no longer marks Slip F18 where Travis McGee once moored the city’s most famous vessel — also fictitious.

    The relegation seems particularly poignant in 2016, McDonald’s centennial birthday year. Sarasota, where MacDonald lived, will be staging a big celebration in July. But there’s nothing going on in Fort Lauderdale.

    In its place will be a $400 million redevelopment project with 600 condos, retail space, new hotels rooms and two overbearing 39-story towers. They also plan to spiffy up the marina.

    Truth is, the snazzy yachts moored at the Bahia Mar lately more closely resemble cruise ships than the old Busted Flush. One thing is for sure,” says Calvin Branche. “Travis McGee would never have been able to afford to dock there.”

    Read more at:

    http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/fred-grimm/article70581602.html

    Best Regards,



    Hugh Pickens

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