Monday, April 06, 2009
Last of the white knights
Travis McGee lives on a custom-made 52-foot barge-type houseboat dubbed The Busted Flush (after the pivotal poker hand that won it for him), docked at Slip F-18 at Bahia Mar Marina, Fort Lauderdale, FL. A self-described beach bum who takes his retirement "in installments", he prefers to take on new cases only when the spare cash (besides a reserve fund) in a hidden safe in the Flush runs low. His business card reads Salvage Consultant, and most business comes by word-of-mouth. His clients are usually people who've been deprived of something important and/or valuable (typically by unscrupulous [and sometimes also legal] means) and have no way to regain it lawfully. McGee's usual fee is half the value of the item (if recovered) plus expenses, and those who object to such a seemingly high fee are reminded that getting back half of something is better than nothing at all. Although the missing items are often tangible (e.g., rare stamps, jewels, etc.), in several books McGee is asked to locate a missing person; in one, the stolen property is a client's reputation. In several instances, he shows a marked propensity to exact revenge, usually for the ill-treatment or death of one of his few real friends....unlike other fictional detectives such as Raymond Chandler's jaded and world-weary Philip Marlowe, McGee clings to what's important to him: his senses of honor, obligation and outrage.
I read the entire series (21 books) when I was in the Peace Corps. The main house in the capital had two huge bookcases that must have contained every paperback volunteers had brought to the country for the last 40 years, including a good array of the classics (half the volunteers bring thick Russian novels, with the understanding you'll finally have time to read them), multiple copies of whatever was in the NY Times Bestseller list in the past five years, and a bunch of pulps on the bottom, which is where I discovered the character of Travis McGee. Coincidentally, the university students went on strike for more than two months and the army posted soldiers with machine guns at the entrances, so I had time to read all the books in order.
What's not to love about this guy? He discusses philosophy with his friend the economist, he takes his retirement "in installments" while he's still young enough to enjoy life, and of course there is the parade of beautiful women, some who need saving, and some who are femme fatales.
In the decades since the books came out (the first was published in 1964; the last in 1984) characters like McGee have appeared from time to time in popular culture, including: Thomas Magnum from MAGNUM, P.I., Michael Westin from Burn Notice, and Jack Reacher from the novels of Lee Child. There are probably dozens of others I can't recall right now. Feel free to add any to comments. I'll do the same.
A good fansite for the series is here. It's a great site.
Final confession: I was originally drawn to the series because the 1960s paperbacks had classic cheesecake models on the covers, such as...
