author
M. (Malcolm) Sterling Mackinlay
1876–1952
A British writer and musician, he moved easily between the worlds of vocal training, biography, and speculative fiction. His work ranges from books on great singers to the 1928 novel Reparation, a future-looking story shaped by the politics of postwar Europe.
1 Audiobook
Garcia the Centenarian and His Times Being a Memoir of Manuel Garcia's Life and Labours for the Advancement of Music and Science
by M. (Malcolm) Sterling Mackinlay
About the author
Born in London on 7 August 1876, Malcolm Sterling Mackinlay was the son of the celebrated singer Antoinette Sterling. He was also a performer himself, appearing as a bass singer before building a broader career as a writer and teacher of voice.
His books show a strong lifelong connection to music. He wrote Antoinette Sterling and Other Celebrities, preserving memories of his mother and her circle, and Garcia the Centenarian and His Times, a substantial study of the great vocal teacher Manuel Garcia. He also wrote on vocal technique, bringing a practical musician’s knowledge to his prose.
Mackinlay is also remembered as the author of Reparation (1928), a near-future novel noted by reference works in speculative fiction. That mix of music, biography, and imaginative writing gives his career an unusual character: he was a working musician who also turned experience and observation into books. He died in London on 10 January 1952.