Gary Jennings
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Gary Jennings (September 20, 1928 – February 13, 1999) was a U.S. author who wrote children and adult novels. In 1980, after the successful novel Aztec, he specialized in writing adult historical fiction novels.
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[edit] Biography
Born September 20, 1928 in Buena Vista, Virginia, to Glen Edward and Vaughnye May Jennings, Gary Jennings attended little formal school after graduating from Eastside High School (of Lean on Me fame) in Paterson, New Jersey, and was mostly self-educated thereafter.
His novels were known for their historical detail and occasionally graphic content. Jennings' novels are well-researched: he lived for 12 years in Mexico to research the Aztec novels, traveled the Balkans while researching Raptor, and joined nine circus troupes during the writing of Spangle. He also produced a number of novels for younger readers, such as A Rope in the Jungle and Black Magic, White Magic.
Gary Jennings died on Friday the 13th of February 1999 in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, aged 70, from undisclosed causes.
| Quotation |
| I'm a writer. I write not only for a living, I write because I'm a writer. |
| Gary Jennings - 1993 |
[edit] Selected bibliography
- The Journeyer (1984) : An account of the travels of Marco Polo to the Far East.
- Spangle (1987) : A chronicle of the lives of carnival entertainers.
- Raptor (1992) : Thorn, a hermaphrodite, and his/her adventures in a post-Roman world.
- Aztec Autumn (1998), a story of the Aztecs following the Spanish conquest.
[edit] Posthumous
Note : The following 2 novels were NOT written by Jennings. They were written by Robert Gleason, Gary's former editor, and Junius Podrug, working from notes that Gary left:
- Aztec Blood (2002) : Cristo, a half-caste, sets out to discover the secret of his birth in the new Mexico.
- Aztec Rage (2006) : Set in the early 19th century, it deals with the Mexican war of independance with Spain.
