Under his real, if unmellifluous, name, Jakes is doing very well. He is the first writer ever to make the bestseller list with three books in a single year. They're all paperbacks and all on a single theme: the Bicentennial.
Jakes is grinding out a series of eight historical novels, four of which have been published so far. The Bastard came out in October 1974, and The Rebels, The Seekers and The Furies followed last year. They have sold more than 5 million copies.
A 43-year-old veteran author of science fiction and children's books, Jakes was asked by Pyramid Books to create a fictional family and weave it through 200 years of American history. The Bastard tells of the flight of an illegitimate English youth, Philip Kent, to America and spans the years 1770-75. The Rebels follows the family from 1775 to 1781. The third novel, The Seekers, covers 1794-1814 and The Furies, 1836-52.
"The best people in the Kent family are what I think the best people in America are: essentially decent, compassionate, considerate. That doesn't mean they don't drink or cuss or fool around. They're not perfect, but they are what I call Christians with a small c"
To bring history to life, Jakes has pored over books on the food, clothing, firearms and customs of the times. (The books, as one reviewer put it, are "sprinkled lightly with sex.") All events, battles and leaders are as authentic as Jakes's research can make them. The family is entirely fictitious.
Jakes is a prolific writer whose daily output can be as many as 6,000 words. Each book takes five months of research and about the same amount of time for the writing. Coming up are The Titans (1860-62), The Warriors (1865-1900), The Lawless and The Americans (1900-76). Jakes's only diversion at the moment is brisk walks to the county library, a block away from his suburban Dayton, Ohio home.
During a recent radio interview Jakes was asked to compare himself to Gore Vidal, who has also written a Bicentennial best-seller, 1876. Jakes replied, "Gore Vidal is a Mercedes. I'm a Vega."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
