Francis Van Wyck Mason was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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 Mason was born to a patrician Boston family which traced its roots on the North American continent back to the 17th Century. His early life before he started writing was filled with adventure.