John William Jakes (born March 31, 1932) is an American writer, best known for American

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, nat ...

. His

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

trilogy, ''

North and South North and South may refer to: Literature * ''North and South'' (Gaskell novel), an 1854 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell * ''North and South'' (trilogy), a series of novels by John Jakes (1982–1987) ** ''North and South'' (Jakes novel), first novel ...

'', has sold millions of copies worldwide. He is also the author of The Kent Family Chronicles. He has used the pen name Jay Scotland.

Early life and education

Jakes was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. He first sold stories to

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

s while still in college in the early 1950s. Jakes studied creative writing at

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...

Greencastle, Indiana Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsylv ...

, graduating in 1953. He then earned an M.A. in

American literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...

from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pub ...

. He and Rachel, to whom had been married for 13 months at the time, appeared on the game show ''

Beat the Clock ''Beat the Clock'' is an American television game show that involves people trying to complete challenges to win prizes while faced with a time limit. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. The show began on radio as ...

'' on August 23, 1952. Although they failed to complete the Bonus Round, Rachel won a Sylvania "Jefferson" 20" screen television set. In 1961, Jakes moved to

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

. He lived there for ten years and worked as a

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...

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

Writing career

Thrilling Wonder Stories ''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing St ...

'', edited by

Sam Merwin Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

, published two 1949–1950 letters from Jakes and two of his stories were published in

pulp magazines Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

edited by

Howard Browne Howard Browne (April 15, 1908 – October 28, 1999) was an American science fiction editor and mystery writer. He also wrote for several television series and films. Some of his work appeared over the pseudonyms John Evans, Alexander Blad ...

late in 1950, ''The Dreaming Trees'' (''

Fantastic Adventures ''Fantastic Adventures'' was an American pulp fantasy and science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1953 by Ziff-Davis. It was initially edited by Raymond A. Palmer, who was also the editor of ''Amazing Stories'', Ziff-Davis's other scie ...

'', November) and "Your Number Is Up!" (''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...

'', December). Jakes sold his first short story (1,500 words) in 1950. ISFDB catalogs 28 more speculative fiction stories published 1951 to 1953. Jakes published dozens of stories and several novels during the twenty years following completion of college, many of them

fantasy fiction Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

, science fiction and westerns and other sorts of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

. During this time, he was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), a loose-knit group of heroic fantasy authors founded in the 1960s and led by

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. ...

. The eight original members were self-selected by fantasy credentials alone. They sought to promote the popularity and respectability of the "

Sword and Sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the ...

" subgenre (such as Brak the Barbarian stories by Jakes). Jakes gained widespread popularity with the publication of his Kent Family Chronicles, which became a bestselling American Bicentennial Series of books in the mid to late 1970s, selling 55 million copies. He has since published several more popular works of historical fiction, most dealing with

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densel ...

, including the North and South trilogy about the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, which sold 10 million copies and was adapted as an ABC-TV miniseries. In 1988, Jakes' stage adaptation of Charles Dickens' ''A Christmas Carol'' was first performed at his home theater on Hilton Head Island. It has since become popular for production by many universities and regional theaters, including the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. In September 2013, Jakes was named a Florida Literary Legend at the Florida Heritage Book Festival and Writers Conference in

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabi ...

Personal

Jakes lives on Bird Key in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The c ...

, with his wife, Rachel, to whom he has been married since 1951. They have four grown children: Andrea, Dr. Ellen, J. Michael, and Victoria.

Works

Mainstream novels

The Kent Family Chronicles

* '' The Bastard'' (1974) (Film adaptation: '' The Bastard'') * '' The Rebels'' (1975) (Film adaptation: '' The Rebels'') * ''

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk music, folk-influenced pop music, pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the Un ...

'' (1975) (Film adaptation: ''

'') * '' The Furies'' (1976) * '' The Titans'' (1976) * '' The Warriors'' (1977) * '' The Lawless'' (1978) * ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American period spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also serve as showrunners a ...

'' (1979)

The North and South trilogy

* ''

'' (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

Brak the Barbarian

* '' Brak the Barbarian'' (1968) * '' Brak the Barbarian Versus the Sorceress'' (also published as " Witch of the Four Winds"(1969) * '' Brak the Barbarian Versus the Mark of the Demons'' (1969) * ''

When the Idols Walked ''When the Idols Walked'' is a fantasy novel by American writer John Jakes, featuring his sword and sorcery hero Brak the Barbarian. Publication history The story was first published in the magazine ''Fantastic Stories of Imagination'' as a two ...

'' (1978) * ''

The Fortunes of Brak ''The Fortunes of Brak'' is a collection of fantasy short stories by American writer John Jakes featuring his sword and sorcery hero Brak the Barbarian. It includes all Brak stories not previously gathered into the earlier books in the series. ...

'' (1980) * ''Brak the Barbarian / Mark of the Demons'' (omnibus) (2012) * ''Witch of the Four Winds / When the Idols Walked'' (omnibus) (2012)

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 mini-series by Universal Pictures Television as the first offering of the highly successful syndicated package, ''

Operation Prime Time Operation Prime Time (OPT) was a consortium of American independent television stations to develop prime time programming for independent stations. OPT and its spin-off syndication company, Television Program Enterprises (TPE), were formed by A ...

'' (1978). It was followed by ''The Rebels'' (1979) and ''The Seekers'' (1979). The ''North and South'' trilogy was made into three

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

on ABC in the 1980s and 1990s.

References

External links

* *
FantasticFiction
— bibliography and book covers
Author's website
— biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Jakes, John 1932 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American historical novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers DePauw University alumni Ohio State University alumni Writers from Chicago Novelists from Florida Novelists from South Carolina Living people American male short story writers American erotica writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Illinois Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period Writers of historical fiction set in the modern age