Name Jan Westcott | Role Author | |
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Died October 29, 2011, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Books The border lord, The Hepburn, Captain Barney: A Novel | ||
Jan Westcott (February 23, 1912 – October 29, 2011), born Maryann Josephine Vlachos, was an American author. She attended Swarthmore College. Her first novel, The Border Lord, appeared in 1946. She was the daughter of Greek scholar and historian Nicholas P. Vlachos.
Westcott specialized in writing historical romance novels. While some reviewers praised her attention to detail, with one notice for Captain Barney stating that "[she] gets her inspiration from the Encyclopædia Britannica", others questioned the historical accuracy of her books. Nevertheless, The Border Lord became a Literary Guild selection, and The Queen's Grace was serialized in the Ladies' Home Journal.
She has been cited as a source of inspiration by romance novelists Karen Harper, Shirlee Busbee, Susanna Kearsley, and Bertrice Small. Her papers are archived at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University.