GREENWICH, Conn. -- Taylor Caldwell, who attracted legions of fans with a long string of historic and romantic novels, has died of lung cancer, relatives said. She was 84.
Caldwell died at her home in Greenwich, Conn., Friday night. Her death was confirmed Saturday night by her daughter, Peggy Fried. Funeral arrangements were pending.
Caldwell lived most of her life in Buffalo, where she was once referred to as that city's 'most famous citizen.' After marrying for the fourth time, to her manager Robert Prestie, Caldwell moved to Greenwich in 1978.
Of her 39 novels, 'Captains and the Kings' was perhaps the best known.
Born Janet Taylor Caldwell on Sept. 7, 1900, she dropped the first name early in her career because, she said, publishers would generally ignore manuscripts from female authors.
Caldwell was 38 when her first work -- 'Dynasty of Death' -- was published. It involved a family of munitions manufacturers and became a best-seller.
The success led to a trilogy, the second and third novels being 'The Eagles Gather' and 'The Final Hour.'
Other novels by Miss Caldwell included 'The Earth Is the Lord's', 'The Strong City', 'The Arm and the Darkness', 'The Turnbulls', 'The Wide House', 'This Side of Innocence', 'There Was a Time,' 'Melissa,' 'The Balance Wheel', 'The Devil's Advocate', 'Never Victorious, Never Defeated', 'Tender Victory', 'Sound of Thunder', 'Your Sins and Mine', 'The Listener', 'Bright Flows the River', 'Dialogues With the Devil,' and 'The Captains and the Kings.'
Caldwell wrote 'The Romance of Atlantis' in collaboration with Jess Stern and one book under the pseudonym of Max Reiner, 'Time No Longer.'
Several of Miss Taylor's novels were made into movies.
She is survived by her husband, daughter and several grandchildren.
