Anya Seton; Author’s Books Became Films

Anya Seton, author of several critically praised historical and biographical novels including “Foxfire” and “Dragonwyck,” died Thursday at her home in Old Greenwich, Conn., it was announced Saturday. She was 86.

Her daughter, Pamela Forcey, said Seton died of heart failure after a long illness.

Seton, who was born in Manhattan, was the daughter of English author and naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton and American travel writer Grace Gallatin.

Seton published her first novel, “My Theodosia,” the story of Aaron Burr’s daughter, in 1941.

“Dragonwyck,” a Gothic tale set in the Hudson River Valley, was her second book and was made into a 1946 film starring Vincent Price as a feudal overlord who tyrannizes his tenants, kills his wife and has a romance with a distant relative.

“Foxfire,” set in an Arizona ghost town, was also made into a successful film, released in 1955 and starring Jane Russell and Jeff Chandler.

Seton’s other novels included “Katherine,” a 1954 treatment of John of Gaunt’s mistress; “The Winthrop Woman,” a 1958 novel about the niece and nephew of John Winthrop, governor of Massachusetts, and three dark romances, all set in England, “Devil Water” in 1962, “Avalon” in 1965 and “Green Darkness” in 1973.

Her works were praised for their research and the ability to bring historical settings and people to life.

She was twice married and divorced and had three children.