John Jakes, often called the people's author and godfather of
the historical novel, has made American history come to life in his
series The Kent Family Chronicles and The North and South Trilogy.
Through these novels, Jakes conveys the sweep of American history,
both its glory and its grim scenes, from the American Revolution to
the opening moments of the 20th century. Never glossing over the
nation's flaws (slavery, materialism, a double-edged Manifest
Destiny), Jakes nevertheless affirms American values. This is the
first full-length critical study of his work. It examines in detail
Jakes' 13 major novels to date and assesses his methods as
America's history teacher.
In Part I, following a chapter on Jakes' life, Jones examines
the early novels and Jakes' use of the genres of historical
fiction, the western, and the historical family sage. Part II, The
Kent Family Chronicles, devotes an individual chapter to each of
the novels in this series, "The Bastard," "The Rebels," "The
Seekers," "The Furies," "The Titans," "The Warriors,"
"The Lawless," and "The Americans." Part III, New Beginnings,
features chapters on "North and South," "Love and War," and "Heaven
and Hell," and chapters on "California Gold" and "Homeland." The
examination of each novel in this study includes sections on plot
development, character development, and thematic issues. Jones also
offers an alternative critical perspective from which to read each
novel--such as feminist literary criticism, New Historicism,
Marxist criticism, and Deconstructionism--that gives the reader an
alternative viewpoint from which to consider the novel. A complete
bibliography of all of John Jakes' work, works about John Jakes,
and a listing of reviews of all the novels examined in the book
concludes the study.
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