Jan Westcott

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

The daughter of Dutch-born classical scholar Nicholas P. Vlachos, a professor at Temple University,<ref name="Reading Eagle">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19691208&id=4J8tAAAAIBAJ&pg=6390,5122413|title=Housewife Jan Westcott Likes To Stay Home, Write Novels|last=Reber|first=Carole|date=December 8, 1969|newspaper=Reading Eagle|page=8|accessdate=2014-08-28}}</ref> Westcott was born in Philadelphia and raised in the area, graduating from Swarthmore High School. While on summer vacation in Avalon (New Jersey), after attending Swarthmore College for a year, she met and eloped with Richard J. Westcott in 1931,<ref name="Philly.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/philly/obituary.aspx?n=jan-westcott&pid=154472273|title=Jan Westcott|date=November 6, 2011|publisher=Philly.com|accessdate=2014-08-28}}</ref><ref name="Daily Ardmoreite">''The Ardmore Daily Ardmoreite'' Vol 54 #165 (7 May 1947) "Author of best seller gets divorce" p.1</ref> 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. After her husband left to join the army in 1943,<ref name="Daily Ardmoreite"/> 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.<ref name="Philly.com"/>

Divorcing her first husband in 1947,<ref name="Daily Ardmoreite"/> 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.<ref name="Philly.com"/> 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.

{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align: center; width: 400px" ! style="background: #F0E68C; font-size: 65%"|'''From ''The Pittsburgh Press'' review of ''The White Rose''''' |- | style="font-size: 75%"| "If there exists such a title as ''Historical Novelist Extraordinary'' [it] must surely belong to Jan Wescott. Her previous novels have reflected her ability to make history a fascinating subject, [& now in] her most ambitious work<span style="font-size:50%">...</span>Wescott makes [the era of the Wars of the Roses] as palatable as it will ever be. Her characters are endowed with personalities built on careful research, & the end result is most engaging.<span style="font-size:60%">...</span>At times the tale bogs down with details of battle campaigns, but this is a minor detraction. There are enough fast-moving situations & events to credit this as one of the better historical novels to make the scene."<ref>''The Pittsburgh Press'' "Novelist deciphers history" by Ruth M. White 31 August 1969 p.24</ref> |}

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 library. Westcott was indeed praised by some reviewers for her attention to detail: one notice for ''Captain Barney'' stated "[she] gets her inspiration from the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''",<ref name=ocr>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19511130&id=sEgpAAAAIBAJ&pg=788,5499979|title=Books and Authors: Captain Barney|last=OCR|date=November 30, 1951|newspaper=The Lewiston Daily Sun|accessdate=2014-08-28}}</ref> although others questioned the authenticity of her books.<ref name=kirkus>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jan-westcott/the-white-rose-3/|title=''The White Rose''|date=July 14, 1969|magazine=Kirkus Reviews|accessdate=2014-08-28}}</ref><ref name=norrie>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19461116&id=JDMjAAAAIBAJ&pg=3764,2786485|title=High Adventure and Romance|last=Norrie|first=Elizabeth|date=November 16, 1946|newspaper=Montreal Gazette|page=12|accessdate=2014-08-28}}</ref> Nevertheless, ''The Border Lord'' became a Literary Guild selection,<ref name=winchell>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19480706&id=ynYoAAAAIBAJ&pg=6265,2830780|title=Walter Winchell|last=Winchell|first=Walter|date=July 6, 1948|newspaper=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|page=2|accessdate=2014-08-28}}</ref> and ''The Queen's Grace'' was serialized in the ''Ladies' Home Journal''.<ref name="Reading Eagle"/> 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.<ref>''The Publishers Weekly'' Vol 163 (1953) p.511</ref>

Cited as a source of inspiration by romance novelists Karen Harper, Shirlee Busbee,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reganromancereview.blogspot.com/2014/04/new-review-jan-westcotts-border-lord-4.html|title=Jan Westcott's ''The Border Lord''|last=Walker|first=Regan|date=April 13, 2014|publisher=Historical Romance Review|accessdate=2014-08-28}}</ref> Susanna Kearsley,<ref name=kearsley>{{cite web|url=http://www.openbookontario.com/news/war_series_writers_readers_susanna_kearsley|title=Writers as Readers, with Susanna Kearsley|last=Kearsley|first=Susanna|date=April 30, 2013|publisher=Open Book Ontario|accessdate=2014-08-28}}</ref> and Bertrice Small,<ref name=rbl>{{cite web|url=http://www.rblromantica.com/Authorinterviews/smallinterview.html|title=RBL Presents! Bertrice Small|date=July 2004|publisher=RBL Romantica|accessdate=2014-08-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065740/http://www.rblromantica.com/Authorinterviews/smallinterview.html|archive-date=2016-03-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> Jan Westcott had had her papers archived at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University.<ref name="Philly.com"/>

==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)

==References== {{reflist}}

==See also== *Mildred Jordan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westcott, Jan}} Category:1912 births Category:2011 deaths Category:20th-century American novelists Category:American historical novelists Category:Swarthmore College alumni Category:Place of birth missing Category:Place of death missing Category:20th-century pseudonymous women writers Category:20th-century American women novelists Category:American women historical novelists Category:20th-century pseudonymous writers Category:21st-century American women