Jeffery Farnol

From 1907 until his death in 1952, Jeffery Farnol was a British writer who wrote over 40 romance novels, many of which were set in the Georgian Era or English Regency period, as well as swashbucklers. He, along with Georgette Heyer, played a key role in establishing the Regency romance genre. John Jeffery Farnol was born in Aston, Birmingham, England, as the son of Henry John Farnol, a factory-employed brass-founder, and Kate Jeffery. He had two brothers and one sister. He spent his childhood...See more

From 1907 until his death in 1952, Jeffery Farnol was a British writer who wrote over 40 romance novels, many of which were set in the Georgian Era or English Regency period, as well as swashbucklers. He, along with Georgette Heyer, played a key role in establishing the Regency romance genre. John Jeffery Farnol was born in Aston, Birmingham, England, as the son of Henry John Farnol, a factory-employed brass-founder, and Kate Jeffery. He had two brothers and one sister. He spent his childhood in London and Kent. He went to Westminster School of Art after losing his job at a Birmingham metal-working company. In 1900, he married Blanche Wilhelmina Victoria Hawley (1883-1955), the 16-year-old daughter of renowned New York scenic artist H. Hughson Hawley. They moved to the United States, where he found work as a scene painter. They had a daughter, Gillian Hawley. He returned to England in 1910, settling in Eastbourne, Sussex. He divorced Blanche in 1938, married Phyllis Mary Clarke on May 20, and adopted her daughter Charmian Jane. His nephew was Ewart Oakeshott, a British illustrator, collector, and amateur historian who wrote on medieval arms and armour. See less