Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy

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Love Me Fierce In Danger: The Life of James Ellroyr uncovers the life-story of one of the most fascinating and provocative figures in American literature. Tracing the history of Ellroy’s life and family, Steven Powell reveals how his parents were migrants to Los Angeles, and how Ellroy’s upbringing in LA, always on the periphery of Hollywood, had a substantial influence on his later work as a novelist. Using new sources, this book uncovers Ellroy’s family secrets including the mysterious first marriage of his mother Jean Ellroy, which happened eighteen years before her brutal, unsolved murder. Her death marked the start of a long and turbulent road for James Ellroy that includes alcoholism, drug addiction, homelessness, and jail time. Steven Powell sheds new light on how Ellroy managed to turn his life around and become a bestselling crime author of such classics as The Black Dahlia and LA Confidential. This biography is the untold story of how Ellroy created a literary persona for himself as the Demon Dog of American Crime Fiction, giving him a celebrity status and notoriety that few authors can match. However, his success comes at a high cost that few readers are aware of. Two divorces, a nervous breakdown, and a relapse into addiction are just some of the traumas he endures in his pursuit of literary greatness. To his admirers Ellroy is a literary genius who has reinvented crime fiction. To his detractors he is a reactionary, overrated figure. Love Me Fierce In Danger examines the enigma of an author who has striven for critical acclaim and often courted controversy with equal zealotry. Cover Contents List of Illustrations James Ellroy Bibliography: List of Key Works Introduction 1 In the Shadow of Hollywood—Los Angeles (1948–1958) 2 Murder in El Monte (1958–1965) 3 Down and Out in the City of Angels (1965–1975) 4 Debris by the Sea (1975–1981) 5 The Road to the Dahlia (1981–1985) 6 Sweet Smell of Success (1986–1990) 7 Enter the Borzoi (1990–1993) 8 On the Trail of the Swarthy Man (1993–1995) 9 Demon Dog of American Crime Fiction (1995–2000) 10 The Crack-Up (2000–2006) 11 Chasing It: Ellroy’s Return to LA (2005–2009) 12 The Big Hurt (2009–2015) 13 Sanctuary (Denver 2016–2020) Acknowledgments Notes Works Cited Index