F. Van Wyck Mason
| F. Van Wyck Mason | |
|---|---|
| Born | Francis Van Wyck Mason November 11, 1901 Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Died | August 28, 1978 (aged 76) Bermuda |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard College |
| Genre | Pulp magazine, historical fiction, detective fiction, spy fiction, young adult fiction |
Francis Van Wyck Mason (November 11, 1901 – August 28, 1978) was an American historian and novelist. He had a long and prolific career as a writer spanning 50 years and including 78 published novels, many of which were best sellers and well received.
Van Wyck (pronounced Wike) Mason was born to a patrician Boston family which immigrated to North America during the 17th Century. His early life featured much adventure, before he began writing. His first eight years he lived in Berlin and then Paris, where his grandfather served as U.S. Consul General, and during that time he learned the French language. After a few years in Illinois he left for Europe during 1917, while still a teenager, to fight in World War I. Like many future writers, he was an ambulance driver for a while. He then managed to enlist in the French Army, where he received decorations as an artillery officer, including the Legion of Honor. By Armistice Day, he was celebrating his 17th birthday yet had already joined the United States Army and achieved the rank of Lieutenant. After the war he went to preparatory school, then attended Harvard University, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree during 1924. At one time during his college days, he was mistakenly arrested for murder; having borrowed a dinner jacket, he was identified wrongly as a waiter who had committed a murder.
His hopes of entering the diplomatic corps were thwarted after his father's death, so Mason started an importing business instead and spent the next few years traveling the world buying antiques and rugs. His travels included Europe, Russia, the Near East, North Africa (nine weeks with his own caravan), the West Indies, Central Africa, and a ride across Central America on horseback. He lived in New York City, served in a cavalry unit of the National Guard, and played quite a bit of polo. He indulged an interest in hunting the rest of his life.
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