Anya Seton, born as Ann Seton on January 23, 1904, was a renowned American author of historical romances, who wrote under the pen name Anya Seton. She was born in New York and passed away in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Seton was the daughter of Ernest Thompson Seton, an English-born naturalist and pioneer of the Boy Scouts of America, and Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson. She is interred at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich.
Seton's historical novels were known for their extensive research into historical facts, and some of them were best-sellers. Two of her most famous works are 'Katherine' and 'Green Darkness'. 'Katherine' is the story of Katherine Swynford, the mistress and eventual wife of John of Gaunt, and their children, who formed the basis for the Tudor and Stuart families of England. 'Green Darkness' is a story of a modern couple plagued by their past life incarnations. Most of her novels have been recently republished, several with forewords by Philippa Gregory.
One of Seton's notable novels is 'Devil Water', which is about James, the luckless Earl of Derwentwater and his involvement with the Jacobite rising of 1715. The novel also narrates the story of his brother Charles, beheaded after the 1745 rebellion, the last man to die for the cause. The action of the novel moves back and forth between Northumberland, Tyneside, London and America. Seton stated that the book developed out of her love for Northumberland, and she had visited her Snowdon cousins at Felton. She also expressed her gratitude to Miss Amy Flagg of Westoe Village in South Shields, her father's birthplace, for her assistance in researching for the novel.
Seton's novels were known for their thorough research into events and places, although her accents can be a little wayward. She was born as Ann Seton Chase and used the pen name Anya Seton for her historical romance novels, which she preferred to call "biographical novels".