Jan Westcott (February 23, 1912 – October 29, 2011), born Maryann "Mary" Josephine Vlachos, was an American author of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

. The daughter of Dutch-born classical scholar Nicholas P. Vlachos, a professor at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

, Westcott was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and raised in the area, graduating from

Swarthmore High School Swarthmore High School was a four-year public high school in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania serving the Boroughs of Swarthmore and Rutledge. History Swarthmore established its own independent school district when Swarthmore Borough incorporated in 18 ...

. While on summer vacation in Avalon (New Jersey), after attending

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

for a year, she met and eloped with Richard J. Westcott in 1931,''The Ardmore Daily Ardmoreite'' Vol 54 #165 (7 May 1947) "Author of best seller gets divorce" p.1 the couple then residing in Camden (New Jersey) where Jan Westcott became a "stay at home mom" to the couple's two sons. Her longstanding interest in history, passed down from her father, was reinforced by the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After her husband left to join the army in 1943, Westcott tried her hand at writing a historical novel, which she worked on while her sons were at school and after putting them to bed. The resultant novel, ''The Border Lord'', was published in 1946. Divorcing her first husband in 1947, Westcott in 1954 married Robert Phelps Barden, the chief radiologist of Chestnut Hill Hospital (Philadelphia). The couple, who had met while both were summering in Avalon, subsequently resided for many years in Philadelphia's Chestnut Hill neighborhood. Westcott, whose fifth novel: ''The Walsingham Woman'', had been published in 1953, had a lower-volume writing career during her second marriage with her eleventh and final novel: ''A Woman of Quality'', being published in 1978, thirty-two years after Westcott's inaugural novel and thirty-three years before the author's passing at age 99. While promoting her 1969 novel ''The White Rose'' – the result of three years' work – Westcott asserted having done thorough research for her novels via the

UPenn The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

library. Westcott was indeed praised by some reviewers for her attention to detail: one notice for ''Captain Barney'' stated " hegets her inspiration from the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

''", although others questioned the authenticity of her books. Nevertheless, ''The Border Lord'' became a

Literary Guild The Literary Guild of America is a mail order book club selling low-cost editions of selected current books to its members. Established in 1927 to compete with the Book of the Month Club, it is currently owned by Bookspan. It was a way to encourag ...

selection, and ''The Queen's Grace'' was serialized in the ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...

''. Westcott's first two novels in particular were successful, both ''The Border Lord'' and ''Captain For Elizabeth'' (1948) ranking as ''New York Times'' Bestsellers and reportedly each selling a million copies. Cited as a source of inspiration by romance novelists

Karen Harper Karen Harper (April 6, 1945 – April 13, 2020) was a historical fiction and contemporary fiction author. She was a ''New York Times'' and ''USA Today'' bestselling author. Personal life Harper was born in Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, Ohio, and graduat ...

Shirlee Busbee Shirlee Busbee (born August 9, 1941) is an American writer of romance novels since 1977. With over nine million copies of her books in print, she is the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in writing, including the Romantic Times Reviewe ...

Susanna Kearsley Susanna Kearsley (born January 17, 1966) is a ''New York Times'' best-selling Canadian novelist of historical fiction and mystery, as well as thrillers under the pen name Emma Cole. In 2014, she received Romance Writers of America's RITA Award ...

, and

Bertrice Small Bertrice Small (December 9, 1937 – February 24, 2015), was an American ''New York Times''- bestselling writer of historical and erotic romance novels. Bertrice lived on Long Island, New York, with her husband George Small. She was a member ...

, Jan Westcott had had her papers archived at the

Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center The Mugar Memorial Library is the primary library for study, teaching, and research in the humanities and social sciences for Boston University. It was opened in 1966. Stephen P. Mugar, an Armenian immigrant who was successful in the grocery b ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

Bibliography

*''The Border Lord'' (1946) *''Captain for Elizabeth'' (1948) *''The Hepburn'' (1950) *''Captain Barney'' (1951) *''The Walsingham Woman'' (1953) *''The Queen's Grace'' (1959) *''Condottiere'' (1962) *''The White Rose'' (1969) *''Set Her on a Throne'' (1972) *''The Tower and the Dream'' (1973) *''A Woman of Quality'' (1978)

Bibliography

References

See also