Jeanne Blanchet

Jeanne Blanchet is an American author, artist, lecturer and musician whose historical fiction ranges across ancient, medieval and early modern history. Born in Chicago, she graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University before earning an MA from Arizona State University and a doctorate focused on East Asian art history. She subsequently spent five years conducting postgraduate research in Japan and taught at several colleges and universities.

Her historical novels include Forger of Empire, which follows the rise of Genghis Khan, and Kamikaze, set during Kublai Khan’s attempted invasions of thirteenth-century Japan. She has also written fiction exploring biblical history, prehistoric life and the experience of a young passenger aboard the Mayflower. Her academic background and years in Japan inform novels concerned with political ambition, cultural conflict, religious belief and the lives of people caught within major historical upheavals.