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John Jakes

John Jakes’s Followers (910)

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John Jakes


Born
in Chicago, Illinois, The United States
March 31, 1932

Died
March 11, 2023

Website

Genre


John William Jakes, the author of more than a dozen novels, is regarded as one of today’s most distinguished writers of historical fiction. His work includes the highly acclaimed Kent Family Chronicles series and the North and South Trilogy. Jakes’s commitment to historical accuracy and evocative storytelling earned him the title of “the godfather of historical novelists” from the Los Angeles Times and led to a streak of sixteen consecutive New York Times bestsellers. Jakes has received several awards for his work and is a member of the Authors Guild and the PEN American Center. He and his wife, Rachel, live on the west coast of Florida.

Also writes under pseudonyms Jay Scotland, Alan Payne, Rachel Ann Payne, Robert Hart Davis, Darius John
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Average rating: 4.14 · 188,569 ratings · 5,177 reviews · 356 distinct worksSimilar authors
North and South (North and ...

4.20 avg rating — 61,658 ratings — published 1982 — 102 editions
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The Bastard (Kent Family Ch...

4.13 avg rating — 25,052 ratings — published 1974 — 7 editions
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Love and War (North and Sou...

4.14 avg rating — 18,545 ratings — published 1984 — 67 editions
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Heaven and Hell (North and ...

4.06 avg rating — 11,864 ratings — published 1987 — 61 editions
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The Rebels (Kent Family Chr...

4.13 avg rating — 8,041 ratings — published 1975 — 7 editions
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The Warriors (Kent Family C...

4.20 avg rating — 7,454 ratings — published 1977 — 38 editions
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The Seekers (Kent Family Ch...

4.11 avg rating — 6,900 ratings — published 1975 — 49 editions
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The Furies (Kent Family Chr...

4.14 avg rating — 6,205 ratings — published 1976 — 67 editions
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The Titans (Kent Family Chr...

4.16 avg rating — 5,566 ratings — published 1976 — 40 editions
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The Americans (Kent Family ...

4.27 avg rating — 5,183 ratings — published 1979 — 40 editions
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More books by John Jakes…
North and South Love and War Heaven and Hell
(3 books)
by
4.18 avg rating — 93,927 ratings

The Bastard The Rebels The Seekers The Furies The Titans The Warriors The Lawless
(8 books)
by
4.16 avg rating — 69,388 ratings

Homeland American Dreams
(2 books)
by
4.18 avg rating — 6,809 ratings

Brak the Barbarian Brak the Barbarian Versus t... Brak vs. the Mark of the De... When the Idols Walked The Fortunes of Brak
(5 books)
by
3.34 avg rating — 603 ratings

The Planet Wizard When the Star Kings Die Tonight We Steal the Stars ...
(3 books)
by
3.26 avg rating — 137 ratings

More series by John Jakes…
Quotes by John Jakes  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“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

“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

“The pain comes from more than the facts of circumstance, or the deeds of others. It comes from within. From understanding what we lost. It comes from knowing how foolish we were - vain, arrogant children - when we thought ourselves happy. It comes from knowing how fragile and doomed the old ways were, just when we thought them and ourselves, secure!. The pain comes from knowing we have never been safe, and therefore will never be safe again. It comes from knowing we can never be children again. ”
John Jakes, Heaven and Hell

Polls

2015 3rd Quarter Long Read Poll, July-September

 
  12 votes, 28.6%

 
  10 votes, 23.8%

1872, Middlemarch by George Eliot, 904 pages
 
  3 votes, 7.1%

 
  3 votes, 7.1%

1981, Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, 647 pages
 
  3 votes, 7.1%

 
  3 votes, 7.1%

1920, The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy, 872 pages
 
  2 votes, 4.8%

1982, North and South by John Jakes, 812 pages
 
  2 votes, 4.8%

1943, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, 720 pages
 
  2 votes, 4.8%

1984, Lincoln by Gore Vidal, 672 pages
 
  1 vote, 2.4%

 
  1 vote, 2.4%

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