John Jakes

Author profile

born

March 31, 1932 in Chicago, The United States

website

http://www.johnjakes.com/index.htm

About this author

AKA Jay Scotland, Alan Payne, Rachel Ann Payne & J.X. Williams
John Jakes is the acknowledged contemporary master of the family saga. He is the creator of the legendary eight-volume Kent Family Chronicles, the Main and Hazard families of The North and South Trilogy, and the Crowns of Chicago, German-Americans whose stories interweave the history of the twentieth century in Homeland and its sequel, American Dreams. His 2002 novel, Charleston, returned him to the turbulent years of the Revolution and the Civil War, and became his sixteenth consecutive New York Times bestseller.

Praised as "the godfather of the historical novel," "the people's author," and "America's history teacher," Jakes mingles the lives of his fictional characters with...more AKA Jay Scotland, Alan Payne, Rachel Ann Payne & J.X. Williams
John Jakes is the acknowledged contemporary master of the family saga. He is the creator of the legendary eight-volume Kent Family Chronicles, the Main and Hazard families of The North and South Trilogy, and the Crowns of Chicago, German-Americans whose stories interweave the history of the twentieth century in Homeland and its sequel, American Dreams. His 2002 novel, Charleston, returned him to the turbulent years of the Revolution and the Civil War, and became his sixteenth consecutive New York Times bestseller.

Praised as "the godfather of the historical novel," "the people's author," and "America's history teacher," Jakes mingles the lives of his fictional characters with those of historical personages, and involves them in the great events of U.S. and world.

His devotion to a unique blend of strong storytelling and historical accuracy has won him a worldwide audience. More than 55 million copies of his Kent Chronicles are currently in print, along with nearly 10 million copies of The North and South Trilogy. Six of his major novels have been filmed as television mini-series. The first North and South production (ABC, David L. Wolper Productions, 12 hours) stands at 7th position among the 10 highest rated miniseries of all time.

Born in Chicago in 1932, John Jakes began writing professionally during his freshman year at Northwestern University, where he was studying acting. He decided to trade the stage for the typewriter when, at age 18, he sold his first story for $25. "That check changed the whole direction of my life," says Jakes.

He enrolled in the creative writing program at DePauw University, graduated in 1953, and in 1954 earned an M.A. degree in American literature from Ohio State University. After completing school, Jakes spent his days writing copy for a large pharmaceutical corporation, then several advertising agencies, including Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, one of the world's largest. At night he wrote and published short stories--eventually 200 of them, along with some 60 books in genres such as mystery, western, and science fiction.

In March of 1973, Jakes began work on The Bastard, first of the eight volumes of The Kent Family Chronicles. The series, depicting American history through the lives of a fictional family, became the publishing industry phenomenon of America's Bicentennial decade. All eight volumes were bestsellers. In 1975, with the publication of volumes II, III, and IV, Jakes became the first author ever to have three books on the New York Times bestseller list in a single year. New American Library has published new editions of the series; each volume, the author had written a new introduction.

North and South, the first book in Jakes's celebrated Civil War trilogy, was published in 1982, Love and War in 1984, and the concluding volume, Heaven and Hell, in 1987. All three were number one bestsellers, and were made into top-rated ABC Novels for Television miniseries.

California Gold was published in 1989, and 1993 saw publication of Homeland, the first of a new cycle of novels about a fictional family in the twentieth century. Homeland was named by the New York Times as one of its "notable books of 1993." The Crown family saga continues in American Dreams.

John Jakes holds honorary doctorates from five universities, the most recent from Ohio State. In 1995 he received the National Cowboy Hall of Fame's Western Heritage Literary Award for his short story Manitow and Ironhand, now collected in the anthology of Jakes stories, The Bold Frontier.

Also in '95 he was recipient of a dual Celebrity and Citizen's Award from the White House Conference on Libraries and Information, for speaking and writing on behalf of America's public libraries. In 1996 he became the tenth living inductee of the South Carolina Academy of Authors, and in 1997 he received the Professional Achi(less)

combine editions
Books by John Jakes

Average rating: 3.93 · 36,156 ratings · 1,240 reviews · 89 distinct works

	North and South (North and South, #1) 3.99 avg rating — 9,689 ratings — published 1982 — 22 editions	My rating:
	The Bastard (Kent Family Chronicles, #1) 3.96 avg rating — 4,186 ratings — published 1974 — 23 editions	My rating:
	Love and War (North and South, #2) 4.00 avg rating — 4,057 ratings — published 1984 — 14 editions	My rating:
	Heaven and Hell (North and South, #3) 3.87 avg rating — 3,073 ratings — published 1987 — 15 editions	My rating:
	The Rebels (Kent Family Chronicles, #2) 3.94 avg rating — 2,019 ratings — published 1975 — 21 editions	My rating:
	The Furies (Kent Family Chronicles, #4) 3.95 avg rating — 1,662 ratings — published 1976 — 18 editions	My rating:
	The Seekers (Kent Family Chronicles, #3) 3.93 avg rating — 1,706 ratings — published 1975 — 18 editions	My rating:
	The Titans (Kent Family Chronicles, #5) 3.97 avg rating — 1,451 ratings — published 1976 — 16 editions	My rating:
	The Warriors (Kent Family Chronicles, #6) 4.04 avg rating — 1,334 ratings — published 1977 — 15 editions	My rating:
	The Americans (Kent Family Chronicles, #8) 4.03 avg rating — 1,183 ratings — published 1979 — 10 editions	My rating:

More books by John Jakes…

Series by John Jakes

North and South (4 books)
by John Jakes, Werner Waldhoff

3.97 avg rating — 16,781 ratings

Kent Family Chronicles (10 books)
by John Jakes

3.97 avg rating — 14,622 ratings

The Crown Family Saga (2 books)
by John Jakes

3.92 avg rating — 1,139 ratings

Brak the Barbarian (5 books)
by John Jakes

3.22 avg rating — 107 ratings

II Galaxy (3 books)
by John Jakes, Laurence Mark Janifer, S.J. Treibich

3.24 avg rating — 33 ratings

More series by John Jakes…

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

Quotes by John Jakes

“I have always had a special affinity for libraries and librarians, for the most obvious reasons. I love books. (One of my first Jobs was shelving books at a branch of the Chicago Public Library.) Libraries are a pillar of any society. I believe our lack of attention to funding and caring for them properly in the United States has a direct bearing on problems of literacy, productivity, and our inability to compete in today's world. Libraries are everyman's free university.”
― John Jakes, Homeland

tags: libraries , library

31 people liked it

“Be Yourself. Let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.”
― John Jakes

15 people liked it

“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.”
― John Jakes

tags: be-yourself , on-writing

12 people liked it

See all John Jakes's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
What's The Name o...: Solved: Chicago World's Fair young photographer [s]	1	43	Nov 16, 2008 05:52pm
Glens Falls (NY) ...: Another Genre: Creative Nonfiction	25	32	Jan 19, 2009 12:19pm
75 Books: Authors you love	18	638	Jan 27, 2009 04:14am
History is Not Bo...: Historical films	31	46	Mar 22, 2009 06:18pm
Daily Diary: Reading Challenge	56	99	Mar 28, 2009 03:46pm
Glens Falls (NY) ...: Historical fiction	64	73	Apr 15, 2009 09:13am
Pulp Magazine Aut...: The Maltese Falcon	39	80	May 11, 2009 03:42am
The Next Best Boo...: Men vs. Women	245	441	May 27, 2009 10:15pm
History is Not Bo...: Need Some Help With Choosing Some Books	13	92	Jul 29, 2009 04:20pm

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite John to Goodreads.

Add New
Videos

John's Fans (133)

John Jakes

Author profile

combine editions
Books by John Jakes

Series by John Jakes

Upcoming Events

Quotes by John Jakes

Topics Mentioning This Author

Add NewVideos

John's Fans (133)

John Jakes

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by John Jakes

Series by John Jakes

Upcoming Events

Quotes by John Jakes

Topics Mentioning This Author

Add New
Videos

combine editions
Books by John Jakes