Jack Whyte (March 15, 1940February 22, 2021) was a Scottish-Canadian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

of historical fiction. Born and raised in Scotland, he moved to Canada in 1967. He resided in Kelowna,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Early life

Whyte was born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

on March 15th, 1940. He resided there until relocating to Canada in 1967. He was employed at a local school for one year, where he taught English. He subsequently worked as an author, musician, and actor. He and his wife, Beverley, initially lived in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

before settling in Kelowna in 1996.

Writings

Whyte's major work was a series of historical novels retelling the story of King Arthur against the backdrop of

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

. This version of the popular legend eschews the use of magic to explain Arthur's ascent to power and instead relies on the historical condition (with some artistic licence) of post-Roman Britain to support the theory that Arthur was meant to counter the anarchy left by the

Roman departure from Britain The end of Roman rule in Britain was the transition from Roman Britain to post-Roman Britain. Roman rule ended in different parts of Britain at different times, and under different circumstances. In 383, the usurper Magnus Maximus withdrew tr ...

in 410 AD and the subsequent colonization and invasion of Britain by various peoples from Northwestern Europe, including the

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Jutes The Jutes (), Iuti, or Iutæ ( da, Jyder, non, Jótar, ang, Ēotas) were one of the Germanic tribes who settled in Great Britain after the departure of the Romans. According to Bede, they were one of the three most powerful Germanic nation ...

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

, and

Angles The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ...

. Whyte incorporates traditional Arthurian names, places and events (albeit in Gaelic or Latin form) as well as the names of various historical figures that have been suggested as being the possible basis for the original King Arthur legend. The tacit implication is that Whyte's version of history is the true story that has become distorted over time to become the legend and stories of magic that we know today. The series has been published in different locations under three different titles. In Canada it was titled ''A Dream of Eagles'', while in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

it was retitled ''The Camulod Chronicles''. When it was eventually republished in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

with a different reading order, it became ''Legends of Camelot''. Whyte served as the official bard of

The Calgary Highlanders The Calgary Highlanders is a Canadian Army Primary Reserve infantry regiment, headquartered at Mewata Armouries in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The regiment is a part-time reserve unit, under the command of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, itself part of L ...

and performed several tracks of poetry and song on the 1990 recording by the

Regimental Pipes and Drums of The Calgary Highlanders {{Infobox pipe band , name = Regimental Pipes and Drums of The Calgary Highlanders , image = , established = , location = Calgary, Alberta , grade = 3 , major = Bill O'Neil , sergeant = Perry Andress , tartan = Government , sponsor = Can ...

entitled ''Eighty Years of Glory: The Regimental Pipes, Drums and Bard of The Calgary Highlanders.''

''Camulod Chronicles''

''A Dream of Eagles'' (''Camulod Chronicles'' or ''Legends of Camelot'')

*''

The Skystone ''The Skystone'' is a historical fiction novel written by Jack Whyte, which was first published in 1992. The story is told by a Roman Officer called Publius Varrus, who is an expert blacksmith as well as a soldier. In the early fifth century, a ...

'' (published in

as ''War of the Celts'') *''

The Singing Sword ''The Singing Sword'' is a historical fiction novel written by Jack Whyte Jack Whyte (March 15, 1940February 22, 2021) was a Scottish-Canadian novelist of historical fiction. Born and raised in Scotland, he moved to Canada in 1967. He reside ...

'' (published in Great Britain as ''The Round Table'') *''

The Eagles' Brood ''The Eagles' Brood'' is a 1994 historical novel by Jack Whyte set in post-Roman Britain. It is the third in Whyte's series ''The Camulod Chronicles''. The novel develops the relationship between Merlyn and Uther as the two become military leade ...

'' (published in Great Britain as ''Merlyn'') *''

The Saxon Shore ''The Saxon Shore'' is a 1995 novel by Canadian writer Jack Whyte chronicling Caius Merlyn Britannicus's effort to return the baby Arthur to the colony of Camulod and the political events surrounding this. The book is a portrayal of the Arthuri ...

'' (published in Great Britain as ''Excalibur'') *''The Sorcerer Part 1:

The Fort at River's Bend ''The Fort at River's Bend'' is a 1997 historical novel by Canadian novelist Jack Whyte. Written as part of a single book, ''The Sorcerer'', it was split for publishing purposes. The book encompasses the beginning of Arthur's education at a lon ...

'' (published in Great Britain as ''The Boy King'') *''The Sorcerer Part 2: Metamorphosis'' (published in Great Britain as ''The Sorcerer'') *''Uther'' (published in Great Britain as ''Pendragon'') The two volumes ''The Sorcerer: The Fort at River's Bend'' and ''The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis'' were written as a single volume entitled ''The Sorcerer'', but were split for publication.

''A Dream of Eagles Prequel''

*''

The Burning Stone ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''Golden Eagle'' (companion mini-series)

*''

Clothar the Frank ''Clothar the Frank'' is a Canadian historical fiction novel by Jack Whyte that continues his Arthurian Cycle as told in '' A Dream of Eagles'' series of novels (called ''The Camulod Chronicles'' outside of Canada). Outside of Canada, the novel ...

'' (published as ''The Lance Thrower'' in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, and as ''Lancelot'' in Great Britain) *''

The Eagle The eagle is a large bird of prey. Eagle or The Eagle may also refer to: Places England * Eagle, Lincolnshire, a village United States * Eagle, Alaska, a city * Eagle Village, Alaska, a census-designated place * Eagle, Colorado, a statut ...

'' (published as ''The Last Stand'' in Great Britain)

Other

*''Uther'' (published as ''Pendragon'' in Great Britain) is a stand-alone novel about the life of

Uther Pendragon Uther Pendragon (Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur. A few ...

from infancy up until the end of events in ''The Eagles' Brood''. It serves to answer questions left open by ''The Eagles' Brood'' that result from the fact that the latter is told exclusively from the perspective of Merlyn Britannicus and as such is not able to explain actions and events of which Merlyn is unaware. ''Uther'' is also a companion novel to ''The Eagles' Brood'', as it follows the title character and others as they grow up and wage war on Uther's main enemy, Guhlrys Lot, King of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

''The Templar Trilogy''

*''Knights of the Black and White'' (released August 1, 2006 in Canada) *''Standard of Honor'' (released August 28, 2007 in Canada) *''Order in Chaos'' (released in August 2009)

The Guardians of Scotland

* ''The Forest Laird'' (2010) * ''The Renegade'' (2012) (published as ''Robert the Bruce'' in the United States in 2013) * ''The Guardian'' (2014)

Short fiction

Though primarily a novelist, Whyte has also written and published at least one

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

: * "Power Play" in '' Paradox Magazine'', issue 8 (Winter 2005–2006), an exploration of the nature of power, set in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Later life

Although Whyte received letters from readers around the world, he lived in obscurity in Kelowna. He died on the night of on February 22, 2021, at Kelowna Hospice House. He was 80, and suffered from cancer prior to his death.

References

External links

Official website
for Jack Whyte. Includes biography, bibliography, book excerpts, radio interview transcripts, and an active fan forum. *. Includes questions by readers and Whyte's answers to those questions, as well as general observations by Whyte.
Jack Whyte: one pen, one sword, one million sold
Feature article about Jack Whyte published in ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', Sept 2, 2009
Jack Whyte at ''Fantasy Literature''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whyte, Jack 1940 births 2021 deaths Canadian historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Scottish emigrants to Canada Canadian male novelists Canadian fantasy writers Scottish fantasy writers Writers of modern Arthurian fiction People from Johnstone People from Kelowna Writers from British Columbia 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Scottish novelists