When and where was John Jakes born?
John William Jakes entered the world on the 31st of March 1932, in Chicago, Illinois. He attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, before graduating in 1953.
John William Jakes entered the world on the 31st of March 1932, in Chicago, Illinois. He attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, before graduating in 1953.
The Kent Family Chronicles became a bestselling American Bicentennial Series with total sales reaching 55 million copies across all volumes. The North and South trilogy about the U.S. Civil War sold 10 million copies worldwide between 1982 and 1987.
John Jakes and his wife Rachel raised four grown children together named Andrea, Dr. Ellen, J. Michael, and Victoria. They had been married since 1951 until his death in 2023.
John used the pen name Jay Scotland for several works including I Barbarian published in 1959 and Sir Scoundrel which appeared under this alias in 1962. These titles belonged to genres ranging from science fiction to westerns.
John William Jakes died in Sarasota on the 11th of March 2023, at age 90. His legacy remains embedded in American literature through millions of sold copies.