Real name John Griffith Cheney(John Griffith Chaney). Born January 12, 1876 in San Francisco. The mother of the future writer, Flora Wellman, was a music teacher and was fond of spiritualism, claiming that she had a spiritual connection with an Indian leader. She became pregnant by the astrologer William Cheney, with whom she lived together for some time in San Francisco. Upon learning of Flora's pregnancy, William began to insist that she have an abortion, but she categorically refused and, in a fit of desperation, tried to shoot herself, but only slightly injured herself.
After the birth of the baby, Flora left him for some time in the care of her former slave Virginia Prentiss (Virginia Prentiss), who remained an important person for London throughout his life. At the end of the same 1876, Flora married John London, an invalid and a veteran of the American Civil War, after which she took the baby back to her. The boy began to be called John London (Jack is a diminutive form of the name John). After some time, the family moved to the city of Oakland, neighboring San Francisco, where London eventually graduated from high school.
Jack London early began an independent working life full of hardships. As a schoolboy, he sold morning and evening newspapers. After graduating from elementary school at the age of fourteen, he entered a cannery factory as a worker. The work was very hard and he left the factory. Was an "oyster pirate", illegally caught oysters in San Francisco Bay (described in "Tales of the Fishing Patrol"). In 1893, he was hired as a sailor on a fishing schooner, going to catch seals to the shores of Japan and the Bering Sea. The first voyage gave London many vivid impressions, which later formed the basis of many of his sea stories and novels (The Sea Wolf, etc.). Subsequently, he also worked as an ironer in a laundry and as a fireman (described in Martin Eden).
London's first essay, "A Typhoon Off the Coast of Japan", which launched his literary career, for which he won first prize in a San Francisco newspaper, was published on November 12, 1893.
In 1894 he took part in the march of the unemployed to Washington (feature "Hold on!"), After which he spent a month in prison for vagrancy ("Straightjacket"). In 1895 he joined the Socialist Labor Party of the USA, from 1900 (in some sources 1901 is indicated) - a member of the Socialist Party of the USA, from which he left in 1914 (in some sources 1916 is indicated); The statement cited the loss of faith in its "fighting spirit" as the reason for the break with the party.
Having independently prepared and successfully passed the entrance exams, Jack London entered the University of California, but after the 3rd semester, due to lack of funds for his studies, he was forced to leave. In the spring of 1897, Jack London succumbed to the Gold Rush and left for Alaska. He returned to San Francisco in 1898, having experienced all the charms of the northern winter. Instead of gold, fate endowed Jack London with meetings with the future heroes of his works.
He became more serious about literature at the age of 23, after returning from Alaska: the first northern stories were published in 1899, and already in 1900 his first book was published - a collection of stories "The Son of the Wolf". This was followed by the following collections of short stories: "The God of His Fathers" (Chicago, 1901), "Children of the Frost" (New York, 1902), "Faith in Man" (New York, 1904), "Moon Face" (New York , 1906), The Lost Face (New York, 1910), as well as the novels The Daughter of the Snows (1902), The Sea Wolf (1904), Martin Eden (1909), which created the writer's widest popularity. The writer worked very hard, 15-17 hours a day. And he managed to write about 40 great books in his entire not very long writing career.
In 1902, London visited England, in fact, in London, which gave him material for writing the book "People of the Abyss" (People of the Abyss), which, to the surprise of many, was a success in the USA, unlike England. Upon his return to America, he gives lectures in various cities, mostly of a socialist nature, and organizes departments of the “Common Student Society”. In 1904-05. London works as a war correspondent for the Russo-Japanese War. In 1907, the writer undertakes a round-the-world trip. By this time, thanks to high fees, London becomes a wealthy man.
Jack London was very popular in the USSR and in Russia, not least due to his sympathy for the ideas of socialism, membership in the Socialist Labor Party, and also as a writer who glorifies the inflexibility of the spirit and life values of an intangible nature (friendship, honesty, hard work, justice), what was promoted in the socialist state and was natural for the mentality of the Russian people, which was formed within the Russian community. The attention of Soviet readers was not focused on the fact that he was America's highest paid writer. His fee reached 50 thousand dollars for a book, which was a fantastic amount. However, the writer himself never gave anyone a reason to accuse himself of writing for the sake of money. He lacked them - so it would be more accurate to put it. And in the novel "Martin Eden", the most autobiographical of all his works, Jack London showed the death of the soul of a young writer and his beloved under the influence of a thirst for money. The lust for life was the idea of his works, but not the lust for gold.
In recent years, London experienced a creative crisis, in connection with which he began to abuse alcohol (later he quit). Because of the crisis, the writer was even forced to buy a plot for a new novel. Such a plot was sold to London by the aspiring American writer Sinclair Lewis. London managed to give the future novel a name - "The Murder Bureau", - but he managed to write quite a bit, as he soon died.
London died on November 22, 1916 in the town of Glen Ellen (California). In recent years, he suffered from a kidney disease (uremia) and died from poisoning with morphine prescribed to him.
The most famous among the public is the version of suicide, however, doctors note that London did not have sufficient knowledge to calculate the lethal dose of morphine, nor serious grounds for suicide (he did not leave a suicide note and chose a completely “non-male” way). Deliberate self-poisoning began to spread in later times - suffice it to recall the fate of Sigmund Freud. But the fact that the very reasoning about the sources of suicides existed in his head is unequivocal. So, his favorite hero Martin Eden quite meaningfully commits suicide, being depressed due to unfulfilled expectations about the principles of the existence of the "higher" American society and psychological fatigue from work. The story "Semper Idem" is also devoted to a related topic; London also mentions his thoughts about suicide in the biographical story "John Barleycorn".
Fantastic in creativity.
Despite the fact that Jack London's main fame was brought by his "northern stories", in his work he repeatedly came out on the themes and problems of SF. Already in the first published story "A Thousand Deaths", the scientist uses his own son as a test subject, conducting experiments on rejuvenation; the humorous short story The Rejuvenation of Major Rathbone (1899) is devoted to the same subject. In "Shadow and Flash" the idea of the invisible man is realized by scientific methods, and in the story "The Enemy of the World" (1908) - a superweapon that gives power over the world. The protagonist of the story "The Red Deity" (1918), discovers a tribe lost in the jungle who worship a mysterious sphere from outer space. The racist ideas of the "white man's burden", at one time shared by London, found expression in the story "An Unusual Invasion" (1910), in which "white" nations carry out genocide against the Chinese (the latter are simply poisoned like insects from the air) in order to establish on The land of utopia.
Several well-known works of London are devoted to the problems of evolution. In the novel Before Adam (1906), which no doubt inspired William Golding's The Heirs, genetic memory allows the consciousness of modern man to travel into the prehistoric past, where "progress" (People of Fire) is gradually replacing the innocent children of Nature from the historical stage. The stories "The Power of the Strong" (1911) and "When the World Was Young" (1910) are devoted to the same theme. And in the story “A Fragment of the Tertiary Epoch” we are talking about another relic - a mammoth that has survived to this day.
The soul of the hero of the novel "The Interstellar Wanderer" (1915), a prisoner in an American prison, without any scientific justification is able to "spiritually" travel in time, incarnating in the previous reincarnations of the hero, from a Roman legionnaire to an American pioneer migrant. The world after the catastrophe, which again came to primitive barbarism, is impressively depicted in the story "The Scarlet Plague" (1912).
The political views of London led to the appearance of his utopian works, of which the most famous, the novel The Iron Heel (1907), belongs to the heights of the writer's work and literary utopia (or dystopia) of the beginning of the century. Back in the 27th century, historians study documents dating back to the late 20th century in which the US groans under the rule of a fascist oligarchy; the struggle of the oppressed proletariat against capital is only flaring up, but it is clear from the prologue that in time it will lead to success. Peru London owns a number of stories on the same subject: "A Curious Fragment" (1907), again representing the sinister figure of the ruler-oligarch; "Goliath" (1908), whose hero invents a new source of energy and with its help establishes a worldwide "proletarian dictatorship"; in the short story Debs' Dream (1909), the socialist revolution is victorious all over the world as a result of a general strike.
Collections of fantastic works by Jack London were repeatedly published abroad, the composition of which varied markedly, depending on the task of the compiler. In Russian, a similar collection was published in 1993, when the compiler Vil Bykov tried to collect under one cover all the translated fantastic short prose by Jack London.
(V. Gakov, with changes)
Jack London(born John Griffith Cheney) is an American writer best known for writing adventure stories and novels.
Born January 12, 1876 in San Francisco. The mother of the future writer, Flora Wellman, was a music teacher and was fond of spiritualism, claiming that she had a spiritual connection with an Indian leader. She became pregnant by the astrologer William Cheney, with whom she lived together for some time in San Francisco. Upon learning of Flora's pregnancy, William began to insist that she have an abortion, but she categorically refused and, in a fit of desperation, tried to shoot herself, but only slightly injured herself.
After the birth of the baby, Flora left him for some time in the care of her former slave Virginia Prentiss, who remained an important person for London throughout his life. At the end of the same 1876, Flora married John London, an invalid and a veteran of the American Civil War, after which she took the baby back to her. The boy began to be called John London (Jack is a diminutive form of the name John). After some time, the family moved to the city of Oakland, neighboring San Francisco, where London eventually graduated from high school.
Jack London early began an independent working life full of hardships. As a schoolboy, he sold morning and evening newspapers. After graduating from elementary school at the age of fourteen, he entered a cannery factory as a worker. The work was very hard and he left the factory. Was an "oyster pirate", illegally caught oysters in San Francisco Bay. In 1893, he was hired as a sailor on a fishing schooner, going to catch seals to the shores of Japan and the Bering Sea. The first voyage gave London many vivid impressions, which then formed the basis of many of his sea stories and novels. Subsequently, he also worked as an ironer in a laundry and as a fireman.
London's first essay, "A Typhoon Off the Coast of Japan", which served as the start of his literary career, for which he won the first prize in one of the San Francisco newspapers, was published on November 12, 1893.
In 1894 he took part in the march of the unemployed to Washington (the essay "Hold on!"), After which he spent a month in prison for vagrancy. In 1895 he joined the Socialist Labor Party of the USA, from 1900 (in some sources 1901 is indicated) - a member of the Socialist Party of the USA, from which he left in 1914 (in some sources 1916 is indicated); the reason for the break with the party in the statement was the loss of faith in its "fighting spirit".
Having independently prepared and successfully passed the entrance exams, Jack London entered the University of California, but after the 3rd semester, due to lack of funds for his studies, he was forced to leave. In the spring of 1897, Jack London succumbed to the "gold rush" and left for Alaska. He returned to San Francisco in 1898, having experienced all the charms of the northern winter. Instead of gold, fate endowed Jack London with meetings with the future heroes of his works.
He began to engage in literature more seriously at the age of 23, after returning from Alaska: the first northern stories were published in 1899, and already in 1900 his first book was published - a collection of stories "The Son of the Wolf". This was followed by the following collections of short stories: "The God of His Fathers" (Chicago, 1901), "Children of the Frost" (New York, 1902), "Faith in Man" (New York, 1904), "Moon Face" (New York , 1906), The Lost Face (New York, 1910), as well as the novels The Daughter of the Snows (1902), The Sea Wolf (1904), Martin Eden (1909). The writer worked very hard, 15-17 hours a day. And he managed to write about 40 great books in his entire not very long writing career.
In 1902, London visited England, in fact, in London, which gave him material for writing the book "People of the Abyss". Upon his return to America, he gives lectures in various cities, mostly of a socialist nature, and organizes departments of the “Common Student Society”. In 1904-1905 London worked as a war correspondent in the Russo-Japanese War. In 1907, the writer undertakes a round-the-world trip. By this time, thanks to high fees, London becomes a wealthy man.
In recent years, London experienced a creative crisis, in connection with which he began to abuse alcohol (later he quit). Because of the crisis, the writer was even forced to buy a plot for a new novel. Such a plot was sold to London by the aspiring American writer Sinclair Lewis. London managed to give the future novel a name - "The Murder Bureau", - but he managed to write quite a bit, as he soon died.
Jack London died on November 22, 1916 in the town of Glen Ellen. In recent years, he suffered from a kidney disease (uremia) and died from poisoning with morphine prescribed to him (many believe that he committed suicide in this way).
Jack London is an American prose writer, short story writer, essayist, classic of world literature of the 20th century.
The future writer was born on January 12, 1876 in a poor family in San Francisco. At birth he was named John Cheney, but eight months later, when his mother married, he became John Griffith London. In 1889 London graduated from high school.
The youth of London came at a time of economic depression and unemployment, the financial situation of the family became increasingly precarious. In 1893, London sailed for eight months to hunt fur seals. Returning, he takes part in a literary competition - he writes an essay "Typhoon off the coast of Japan" and wins the first prize.
By the age of twenty-three, London changed many occupations, was arrested for vagrancy and speaking at socialist rallies, was a prospector in Alaska during the Gold Rush, was a student, sailed as a sailor, participated in the march of the unemployed.
His short 40-year life included years of serious farming on a ranch in California, a job as a correspondent during the Russo-Japanese War, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and the Mexican Revolution. Jack London also lectured at Harvard and Yale, was an activist in the Socialist Party - until he became disillusioned with its ideals. Several times he was seriously ill - including scurvy and dengue fever; was married twice.
Having adopted the views of K. Marx, G. Spencer and F. Nietzsche, London developed his own philosophy. As a socialist, he decided that writing was the easiest way to make money under capitalism, and starting with short stories in the Overland Monthly, he soon conquered the east coast literary market with stories of adventure in Alaska. Neo-romantic novels and stories about the North, prose about life at sea combine the poetry of harsh nature, selfless courage with the depiction of severe physical and moral trials.
In 1900, London publishes its first collection of short stories, The Son of the Wolf. For the next seventeen years, he published two or even three books a year. Fame comes to London, his financial situation stabilizes, he marries Elizabeth Maddern, he has two daughters.
A collection of short stories, The God of His Fathers (1901), was published; the novel The Daughter of the Snows and the book Men of the Abyss about the life of the poorest quarter of London's East End (1902); novella The Call of the Wild (1903). In 1904, one of London's most famous novels, The Sea Wolf, about Captain Wolfe Larsen, was published. In the same year, London goes on a business trip to Korea for the Russo-Japanese War. Upon returning, he divorces his wife and marries her former girlfriend Charmaine Kittredge.
In 1905, The War of the Classes appeared, a political essay that expounded the revolutionary socialist views of London. In 1907, the utopian apocalyptic novel The Iron Heel about the class war was published.
In 1907-1909. London makes a sea voyage on the Snark yacht built by him according to his own drawings. In 1909, the autobiographical novel "Martin Eden" (Martin Eden) is published about a sailor who makes his way to the heights of knowledge and literary glory through a difficult path.
In 1913, John Barleycorn, an autobiographical treatise on alcoholism, a tragic argument in favor of Prohibition, and the novel The Valley of the Moon appeared.
November 22, 1916 London died in Glen Ellen (California) from a lethal dose of morphine, which he took either to relieve the pain caused by uremia, or knowingly, wanting to commit suicide.
In 1920, the novel Hearts of Three was published posthumously, in which London refers to a new for him, but very promising genre of American literature - the film story.
In less than 20 years of literary activity, Jack London created over 200 stories, 20 novels and 3 plays. The subjects of his works are no less diverse than his life. The most famous cycle of his works, conventionally called "Northern Odyssey", which includes, along with others, the story "The Call of the Ancestors" (1903) and "White Fang" (1906), the stories "The Law of Life" (1901), "Love of Life "(1905), "Bonfire" (1908).
London's prose style - clear and at the same time figurative - had a significant impact on many writers of the twentieth century, in particular on Hemingway, Orwell, Mailer, Kerouac.
American writer and public figure, author of well-known social and adventure novels, novels and short stories. In his work, he sang the inflexibility of the human spirit and love of life. Works such as White Fang, The Call of the Wild, and Martin Eden made him one of the most famous and highly paid writers in the history of the United States (his fee reached 50 thousand dollars per book, which was a fantastic amount for the beginning of the XX century).
We decided to recall the best novels and stories of the writer.
Martin Eden
One of the most significant works of Jack London. A young sailor named Martin Eden saves an unfamiliar young man from death, who, in gratitude, invites him to a dinner party. For the first time in a noble society, uncouth and clumsy Martin meets the young man's sister, Ruth Morse, and she instantly wins his heart. He understands that he, a simple guy, will never be with a girl like her. However, Martin does not know how to give up and decides to quit his old life and become better, smarter and more educated in order to win the heart of Ruth.
This famous "Northern" story by Jack London tells about willpower and the laws of survival, about courage and perseverance, about devotion and true friendship. White Fang is not only the protagonist of the work: most of the story is shown through his eyes. In this book you will find a story about the fate of a proud and freedom-loving animal, in which the blood of a ferocious predator flows. He will have to face both cruelty and the best qualities of the human soul: nobility, kindness, mutual assistance, selflessness.
call of the ancestors
Dog dealers kidnap Beck, a young half-breed dog, from his master's house and sell him to Alaska. The harsh land, overwhelmed by the Gold Rush, so unlike his sunny homeland, requires the focus of all vitality from Back. If he fails to resurrect the memory of his wild ancestors, he will inevitably perish...
The Call of the Wild is one of Jack London's best early works. The author focuses the reader's attention on the law that governs the animal world: an individual survives that is better than others able to adapt to changing environmental conditions. This story has become a kind of artistic rethinking of American reality at the beginning of the 20th century.
Wolf Larsen is the captain of a fishing schooner, a cruel and cynical sailor who can easily kill a person. But at the same time, he is a lonely philosopher, an admirer of Shakespeare and Tennyson. In his novel, Jack London describes his sea travels and skillfully reveals the image of this controversial person.
"Hearts of Three" is London's last novel, his "anniversary", fiftieth, book. The reader is waiting for extraordinary adventures, the search for mysterious treasures and, of course, love.
Francis Morgan is the son of a deceased millionaire, born aristocrat. It all starts with the search for the treasures of the founder of the family - the formidable pirate Henry Morgan, then an unexpected meeting, an unexpected capture, liberation, pursuit, treasures, a village of Lost Souls with a beautiful queen ... The action takes place almost continuously, the heroes, not having time to get out of one unpleasant situation, immediately fall into another.
The story of the Morgan cousins and the beautiful Leoncia, whom both of them are in love with, has been filmed more than once - both in the West and in Russia.
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The most legendary American writer is Jack London (books). The list contains the best works of the author, for which he became famous throughout the world.
Martin Eden
The novel tells about the difficult fate of a poor guy who later became a writer. Martin's life was turned upside down by a meeting with Ruth, an intelligent, educated girl who immediately fell in love with the young man. Experiencing such strong feelings as love, Martin changes externally and internally, stops communicating with old acquaintances and suddenly realizes how insignificant the world and his love are. Further
Little Mistress of the Big House
The work, released shortly before the death of Jack London, is dedicated to the relationship of strong personalities. The novel is full of love intricacies and intrigues, but this does not prevent him from being noble. According to the writer himself, this is his best work, in which he managed to truly convey the feelings and emotions that love evokes in the hearts of people. Further
Hearts of three
The exciting story of a young millionaire Francis and his cousin Henry Morgan, whose distant ancestor was the famous pirate captain. The brothers go in search of an old treasure and when a charming girl named Leoncia joins them, both fall in love with her. The novel was filmed many times both in the West and in Russia. Further
You can subjugate a person, but you cannot kill the desire to be free in him - the main theme of a work little known in Russia. Crazy by the standards of others, the protagonist is able to get out of his body and travel through ancient countries and eras. His physical body is locked, but does it matter if the soul moves freely at any time ... More
A work called a road romance because of the constant wanderings of the hero in search of a place where he would be truly happy. In the novel, Jack London expresses his protest against socialism and sees the future in farm life. After several years of searching and wandering, the main characters leave the city, finding their happiness in life on a farm in Moon Valley. Further
The world of big business is cruel and knows no mercy. Having obtained the money and the long-awaited power, the protagonist of the novel suddenly realizes that true human values are loyalty, love and a strong family. He refuses financial well-being and remains to live with his beloved woman away from the city. The novel was banned in the Soviet Union and was not published for a long time. Further
Professor Darrell is sentenced to death and awaits punishment in prison. During a severe punishment with a straitjacket, he suddenly finds himself in his previous incarnations in different countries and eras: the intelligent Count Guillaume de Saint-Maur in France of the Middle Ages, a nine-year-old boy who did not chicken out in a moment of danger, the head of the legion under Pontius Pilate ... More
Jack London's first novel, The Daughter of the Snows, tells the story of the wanderings of a young American, Frona Welz. Many years later, she returns to her father, having received an excellent versatile education, but without losing human sincerity and simplicity. The book includes several stories from different years, describing the life of treasure hunters during the gold rush. Further
One of Jack London's best novels. After a storm on the ship, the captain of the schooner "Ghost" saves the life of a young sailor, Humphrey. To survive and be able to protect his love, the young man will have to fight with a cunning and cruel captain who promotes a special philosophy. Only true love will help Humphrey overcome obstacles and become a real sea dog himself. Further
White Fang
The harsh North leaves a mark on the souls of people and animals. The protagonist of the story - a wolf named White Fang - learned to survive even in the most terrible conditions. Jack London describes in detail the psychology, behavior and actions of the White Fang, shows how care and affection towards the animal teaches him to give love. And for a tame wolf, love was worth more than life. Further
Adventure
The novel "Adventure" tells about the dangerous life of white colonists among the cannibal natives in the Solomon Islands. The work depicts in detail the life principles, traditions and rituals of the indigenous peoples of one of the most mysterious islands on Earth. In the Soviet Union, the novel was called racist and banned from publication for a long sixty-four years. Further
Iron heel
The writer, as if looking into the future, accurately describes the society that appeared a few years after the publication of the novel. And to this day, the work has not lost its relevance: billionaires, terrorists, spies ... Nineteen years have already passed, and, despite all efforts, no one could figure out who dropped the bomb. It was some kind of member of the Iron Heel, but how could he get past our agents without being noticed? Further
scarlet plague
In 2013, an unknown virus hits the Earth, killing people in a few hours. A disease called the Scarlet Plague is taking over the planet, leaving only a few survivors. Jack London's book "The Scarlet Plague" tells about a new society, where there are completely different rules, similar to the laws of the animal world and absolutely wild for modern man. Further
A captivating story about a perilous voyage in the southern seas on a sailboat sailing towards Cape Horn. After the tragic death of the captain, the crew of the sailboat was divided into two groups. Conflicts among the sailors and the raging elements make the protagonist stop silently watching what is happening and finally become himself - a strong-willed and strong person with leadership qualities. Further
