John Jakes

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John Jakes
BornJohn William Jakes
(1932-03-31)March 31, 1932
Historical novels, fantasy, science fiction
Notable works
Spouse
Rachel Jakes
​
(m. 1951)​
Children4

John William Jakes (March 31, 1932 – March 11, 2023) was an American writer, best known for historical and speculative fiction. His American Civil War trilogy, North and South, has sold millions of copies worldwide. He was also the author of The Kent Family Chronicles. Jakes used the pen name Jay Scotland among others.

Early life and education

Jakes was born in

advertising agencies while he wrote fiction at night and on the weekends.[5]
In 1971, he began to write full-time.

Writing career

Cover of Science Fiction Quarterly featuring John Jakes's "The Taint"

pulp magazines edited by Howard Browne late in 1950, The Dreaming Trees (Fantastic Adventures, November) and "Your Number Is Up!" (Amazing Stories, December). Jakes sold his first short story (1,500 words) in 1950.[6]

28 more speculative fiction stories by Jakes were published 1951 to 1953.

westerns, and other sorts of historical fiction
.

During this time, he was a member of the

Sword and Sorcery
" subgenre (such as Brak the Barbarian stories by Jakes).

Jakes gained widespread popularity with the publication of his

U.S. Civil War, which sold 10 million copies and was adapted as an ABC
miniseries.

In 1988, Jakes's stage adaptation of

Hilton Head Island. It has since become popular for production by many universities and regional theaters, including the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.[8]

In September 2013, Jakes was named a Florida Literary Legend at the Florida Heritage Book Festival and Writers Conference in St. Augustine, Florida.[9]

Personal life and death

Jakes lived on Bird Key in Sarasota, Florida, with his wife, Rachel, to whom he had been married from 1951. They had four grown children: Andrea, Dr. Ellen, J. Michael, and Victoria.[9]

Jakes died in Sarasota on March 11, 2023, at the age of 90.[10][11]

Works

Mainstream novels

The Kent Family Chronicles

Main article: The Kent Family Chronicles
  • The Bastard
    )
  • The Rebels
    )
  • The Seekers
    )
  • The Furies
     (1976)
  • The Titans
     (1976)
  • The Warriors
     (1977)
  • The Lawless
     (1978)
  • The Americans
     (1979)

The North and South trilogy

Main article: North and South (trilogy)
  • North and South
     (1982)
  • Love and War
     (1984)
  • Heaven and Hell
     (1987)

The Crown Family Saga

  • Homeland (1993)
  • American Dreams (1998)

Other

  • The Texans Ride North (1952)
  • A Night For Treason (1956)
  • Wear A Fast Gun (1956)
  • The Devil Has Four Faces (1958)
  • The Seventh Man (1958)
  • I, Barbarian (1959) (as Jay Scotland)
  • Johnny Havoc (1960)
  • Sir Scoundrel (1962) (as Jay Scotland)
  • Veils of Salome (1962)
  • Arena (1963) (as Jay Scotland)
  • Making It Big aka Johnny Havoc and the Siren in Red (1968)
  • On Wheels (1973)
  • California Gold (1989)
  • In The Big Country (1993), later reissued as The Bold Frontier (2001)
  • On Secret Service (2000)
  • Charleston
     (2002)
  • Savannah or a Gift for Mr. Lincoln (2004)
  • Funeral for Tanner Moody (with Elmer Kelton, Robert Randish) (2004)
  • The Gods of Newport (2006)

Science fiction and fantasy

The first Brak story, "Devils in the Walls", was originally published in Fantastic in 1962. It was collected in The Fortunes of Brak.

Brak the Barbarian

Dark Gate

  • Master of the Dark Gate (1970)
  • Witch of the Dark Gate (1972)

Dragonard

  • When The Star Kings Die (1967)
  • The Planet Wizard (1969)
  • Tonight We Steal the Stars (1969)

Planet of the Apes

  • Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

Other novels

  • Secrets Of Stardeep (1969)
  • The Hybrid (1969)
  • The Last Magicians (1969)
  • The Asylum World (1969)
  • Mask of Chaos (1970)
  • Monte Cristo #99 (1970)
  • Six-Gun Planet (1970)
  • Black in Time (1970)
  • Time Gate (1972)
  • Mention My Name in Atlantis (1972)
  • On Wheels (1973)
  • Excalibur (1980) with Gil Kane

Collections

  • The Best of John Jakes (1977)

Children's books

  • Susanna of the Alamo (1986)

Nonfiction

  • Famous Firsts in Sports (1967)
  • Great War Correspondents (1967)
  • Great Women Reporters (1969)
  • Mohawk: The Life Of Joseph Brant (1969)

Plays

  • A Christmas Carol (1988)

Adaptations

The Bastard was adapted as a television miniseries by Universal Pictures Television as the first offering of the highly successful syndicated package, Operation Prime Time (1978). It was followed by The Rebels (1979) and The Seekers (1979). The North and South trilogy was made into three miniseries on ABC in the 1980s and 1990s.

References

  1. ^ a b L. H. Whittemore (June 19, 1977). "Meet John Jakes: Instant Historian and Millionaire". Youngstown Vindicator. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  2. ^ "John Jakes". Contemporary Authors Online. May 15, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
  3. ^ "Author Jakes on top after long struggle". Sarasota Journal. May 26, 1977. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  4. ^ "BEAT THE CLOCK with Bud Collyer (Aug 23, 1952)". Archived from the original on December 12, 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
  5. ^ "Ohio Reading Road Trip | John Jakes Biography".
  6. ^ https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1458&context=cwbr [bare URL PDF]
  7. ^ John Jakes at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  8. ^ "John Jakes, the author of the Kent Family Chronicles, the Civil War saga the North and South Trilogy, and the Crown Family Saga. His books have sold millions of copies worldwide. - John Jakes".
  9. ^ a b "Tiptoeing toward Florida: Best-selling historical novelist John Jakes is named a Florida Literary Legend".
  10. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (March 14, 2023). "John Jakes, Whose Historical Novels Hit the Jackpot, Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  11. ^ Schaub, Michael (March 15, 2023). "'North and South' Author John Jakes Dies at 90". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved March 16, 2023.

External links

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