ANGUS CAMERON

CHARACTER SKETCH DETAIL

46, wry, reserved, pragmatic book publisher, avid fly fisher and outdoorsman, and co-owner (with Albert E. Kahn) of the small, struggling publishing firm Cameron and Kahn. 

Having been hounded from his job with Little, Brown and Company after being blacklisted, Angus knows firsthand some of the risks he and Albert face in linking arms with the boisterous, mercurial Harvey Matusow.  Yet even Angus cannot foresee the maelstrom Harvey’s book and their stand behind it will unleash.

What does Angus believe? That injustice — and fools — shall not be tolerated. With a political will to match Albert’s, Angus also sees himself as manning the front lines against this new cultural tyranny. But in some ways, he is a more principled advocate than his publishing partner. Angus is a man formed from reason, the yin to Albert’s hyper-emotional yang.

Angus has a deep affection for knowledgeable people and a keen nose for bullshitters. Which is why he doesn’t really trust or like Harvey. Angus challenges Albert to sell him on the idea of taking on Harvey’s book as a last-ditch effort to save their company. Upon the conclusion, Angus’ reply is a singular condition: Albert must secure a complete confession from this compulsive liar or else it’s a fool’s errand. And with that, Angus is all in. While Albert navigates the convoluted pathways of Harvey’s heart and mind, it’s Angus who gets to the practical work of setting up the war room, hiring staff, and keeping the lights on and the machine running while parrying every attempt made by government operators and a vitriolic public to shut them down.

Even then, Angus tasks himself with keeping a watchful eye on the con man and keeping his partner’s eager optimism in check, for fear that it will get in their way of making hard choices and smart moves. There will come a time when Angus must decide if he’s going to let Harvey take them all down the rabbit hole, or if he should cut bait for the sake of saving them from disaster, even at the cost of his professional relationship and personal friendship with Albert.

STAKES

Angus is at risk of losing both his publishing firm to financial ruin, and his partner, Albert, to his own dangerous impulses.

CHARACTER ARC

Angus must learn how to let go of control and how to follow his passion when he discovers that rational thought can be ineffective against an irrational enemy.

BIO NOTES

A son of the Midwest, Cameron achieved early success in the book business by editing the staple of American cookery The Joy of Cooking, by Irma Rombauer.  He later joined the publishing house Little, Brown in Boston, where he rose to the post of editor-in-chief, promoting and publishing J.D. Salinger, Ogden Nash, and others. 

In 1951, his proposed publishing of Howard Fast's novel Spartacus contributed to public accusations that Little, Brown had become a “communist front” under his leadership.  Defying demands that he clear all of his political activities through Little, Brown’s board, Angus resigned instead.  Soon after, he joined with Albert Kahn in forming Cameron & Kahn in New York City, where both are working at the opening of FOOL THEM ONCE. 

After the end of the blacklist, Angus was hired by Alfred A. Knopf as a senior editor.