John Jakes

2025-09-20T17:27:25Z

2603:3016:1E00:E100:84A5:FE1B:FD81:6834: /* Adaptations */

{{short description|American writer (1932–2023)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = John Jakes
| image = 
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = John William Jakes
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1932|3|31}}
| birth_place = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|3|11|1932|3|31}}
| death_place = [[Sarasota, Florida]], U.S.
| pseudonym = Jay Scotland
| occupation = Writer
| education = [[DePauw University]]<br>[[Ohio State University]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])
| period = 1950–2023
| genre = [[Historical novels]], [[fantasy]], [[science fiction]]
| subject = 
| notableworks= {{plainlist |
* [[The Kent Family Chronicles]]
* [[North and South (trilogy)|North and South]] trilogy
}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Rachel Jakes|1951}}
| children = 4
}}

'''John William Jakes''' (March 31, 1932 – March 11, 2023) was an American writer, best known for [[historical fiction|historical]] and [[speculative fiction]]. His [[American Civil War]] trilogy, ''[[North and South (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 [[Chicago, Illinois]], on March 31, 1932.<ref name="Youngstown">{{Cite news|title = Meet John Jakes: Instant Historian and Millionaire|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w_1IAAAAIBAJ&pg=2806,1688712&dq=the+bastard+john+jakes&hl=en|access-date = July 4, 2013|date = June 19, 1977|author = L. H. Whittemore|newspaper = Youngstown Vindicator}}</ref><ref>"John Jakes". ''Contemporary Authors Online''. May 15, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2010.</ref> He first sold stories to [[pulp magazine]]s while still in college in the early 1950s.<ref>{{cite news|title=Author Jakes on top after long struggle|date=May 26, 1977|access-date=July 4, 2013|newspaper=Sarasota Journal|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1798&dat=19770526&id=aAIdAAAAIBAJ&pg=6835,4861726}}</ref> Jakes studied creative writing at [[DePauw University]] in [[Greencastle, Indiana]], where he was a member of [[Sigma Alpha Epsilon]], graduating in 1953. He then earned an [[Master of Arts|MA]] in [[American literature]] from [[Ohio State University]]. He and Rachel, to whom he had been married for 13 months at the time, appeared on the game show ''[[Beat the Clock]]'' on August 23, 1952. Although they failed to complete the Bonus Round, Rachel won a Sylvania "Jefferson" 20" screen television set.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8NWqHrXAmY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/z8NWqHrXAmY| archive-date=December 12, 2021 |url-status=live|title=BEAT THE CLOCK with Bud Collyer (Aug 23, 1952)|date=August 8, 2015 |via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1961, Jakes moved to [[Dayton, Ohio]]. He lived there for ten years and worked as a [[copywriter]] for several [[advertising agencies]] while he wrote fiction at night and on the weekends.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.orrt.org/jakes/|title=Ohio Reading Road Trip | John Jakes Biography}}</ref> In 1971, he began to write full-time.

==Writing career==
{{expand section|date=April 2013}}
[[File:Science Fiction Quarterly August 1955.jpg|thumb|right|Cover of ''[[Science Fiction Quarterly]]'' featuring John Jakes's "The Taint"]]

''[[Thrilling Wonder Stories]]'', edited by [[Sam Merwin]], published two 1949–1950 letters from Jakes and two of his stories were published in [[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.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Theriot | first=Katie L. | title='Unrelenting Suspense': An Interview With John Jakes, Chronicler Of The American Epic | journal=Civil War Book Review | volume=2 | issue=2 | date=2000-03-01 | issn=1528-6592 | doi=10.31390/cwbr.2.2.1 | doi-access=free | url=https://repository.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1458&context=cwbr | access-date=2025-09-03 | page=}}</ref>

Twenty-eight more speculative fiction stories by Jakes were published 1951 to 1953.<ref name=isfdb/> He then published dozens of stories and several novels during the twenty years following completion of college, many of them [[fantasy fiction]], science fiction and [[westerns]], and other sorts of [[historical fiction]].

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]]. The eight original members were self-selected by fantasy credentials alone. They sought to promote the popularity and respectability of the "[[Sword and Sorcery]]" subgenre (such as Brak the Barbarian stories by Jakes).

Jakes gained widespread popularity with the publication of his ''[[The Kent Family Chronicles|Kent Family Chronicles]]'', which became a bestselling American Bicentennial Series of books in the mid- to late 1970s,<ref name="Youngstown"/> selling 55 million copies. He subsequently published several more popular works of historical fiction, most dealing with [[American history]], including the ''[[North and South (trilogy)|North and South]]'' trilogy about the [[U.S. Civil War]], which sold 10 million copies and was [[film adaptation|adapted]] as an [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] miniseries.

In 1988, Jakes's stage adaptation of [[Charles Dickens]]'s ''[[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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://johnjakes.com/author |title=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 }}</ref>

In September 2013, Jakes was named a Florida Literary Legend at the Florida Heritage Book Festival and Writers Conference in [[St. Augustine, Florida]].<ref name="ticket.heraldtribune.com">{{Cite web |url=http://ticket.heraldtribune.com/2013/09/21/tiptoeing-toward-florida-best-selling-historical-novelist-john-jakes-is-named-a-florida-literary-legend/ |title=Tiptoeing Toward Florida: Best-selling Historical Novelist John Jakes Is Mamed a Florida Literary Legend}}</ref>

==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.<ref name="ticket.heraldtribune.com"/>

Jakes died in [[Sarasota, Florida|Sarasota]] on March 11, 2023, at the age of 90.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McFadden |first1=Robert D. |date=14 March 2023 |title=John Jakes, Whose Historical Novels Hit the Jackpot, Dies at 90 |work=[[The New York Times]] |publisher= |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/14/books/john-jakes-dead.html |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schaub |first=Michael |date=2023-03-15 |title='North and South' Author John Jakes Dies at 90 |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/north-and-south-author-john-jakes-dies-at-90/ |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |language=en}}</ref>

==Works==


===Mainstream novels===

====The Kent Family Chronicles====
{{Main|The Kent Family Chronicles}}
* ''[[The Bastard (novel)|The Bastard]]'' (1974) (Film adaptation: ''[[The Bastard (miniseries)|The Bastard]]'')
* ''[[The Rebels (Jakes novel)|The Rebels]]'' (1975) (Film adaptation: ''[[The Rebels (miniseries)|The Rebels]]'')
* ''[[The Seekers (novel)|The Seekers]]'' (1975) (Film adaptation: ''[[The Seekers (miniseries)|The Seekers]]'')
* ''[[The Furies (Jakes novel)|The Furies]]'' (1976)
* ''[[The Titans (novel)|The Titans]]'' (1976)
* ''[[The Warriors (Jakes novel)|The Warriors]]'' (1977)
* ''[[The Lawless (novel)|The Lawless]]'' (1978)
* ''[[The Americans (novel)|The Americans]]'' (1979)

====The North and South trilogy====
{{Main|North and South (trilogy)}}

* ''[[North and South (Jakes novel)|North and South]]'' (1982) (Film adaption)
* ''[[Love and War (Jakes novel)|Love and War]]'' (1984) (Film adaption)
* ''[[Heaven and Hell (Jakes novel)|Heaven and Hell]]'' (1987) (Film adaption)

====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 (novel)|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===

[[File:Fantastic 196305.jpg|thumb|right|The first Brak story, "Devils in the Walls", was originally published in ''[[Fantastic (magazine)|Fantastic]]'' in 1962. It was collected in ''[[The Fortunes of Brak]]''.]]

====Brak the Barbarian====
* ''[[Brak the Barbarian]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Brak the Barbarian Versus the Sorceress]]'' (also published as "[[Witch of the Four Winds]]"(1969)
* ''[[The Mark of the Demons|Brak the Barbarian Versus the Mark of the Demons]]'' (1969)
* ''[[When the Idols Walked]]'' (1978) {{ISBN|0-671-81373-0}}
* ''[[The Fortunes of Brak]]'' (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 [[miniseries]] by Universal 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 [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in the 1980s and 1990s.

==References==
{{reflist |refs=
<ref name=isfdb>{{isfdb name |1170}}</ref>

}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{isfdb name|1170}}
* {{Librivox author |id=16238}}
* {{imdb name|0415887}}
* [http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/j/john-jakes/ FantasticFiction] — bibliography and book covers
* [https://johnjakes.com/author Author's website] — biography
* {{discogs artist|John Jakes}}

{{John Jakes}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jakes, John}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:American fantasy writers]]
[[Category:American historical novelists]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:DePauw University alumni]]
[[Category:Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Chicago]]
[[Category:Novelists from Florida]]
[[Category:Novelists from South Carolina]]
[[Category:American male short story writers]]
[[Category:American erotica writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:Novelists from Illinois]]
[[Category:Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period]]
[[Category:Writers of historical fiction set in the modern age]]
[[Category:Sigma Alpha Epsilon members]]

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John Jakes