Famous story by Jack London. Works of Jack London: novels, novellas and stories

Who is Jack London? The biography of this person is extensive and varied. We can say that it is full of adventures worthy of its heroes. Yes it is: he wrote, drawing stories from own life, the conditions surrounding it, the people passing through it, their struggles and victories.

He always strived for the truth, tried to understand the value system permeating society and expose errors. How similar he is to a Russian in this! But Jack is 100% American by birth. His phenomenon of similarity will continue to surprise for a long time, until the boundaries of mentalities are erased.

Childhood

In the middle of winter, on January 12, 1876, John Griffith Cheney saw the light of day in Frisco. Unfortunately, the father did not recognize the pregnancy and left Flora without seeing his child. Flora was in despair. Leaving the newborn in the arms of the black nurse Jenny, she rushed to arrange her personal life.

As an adult, Jack London, whose biography is replete with adventures, did not forget her. He helped these women, considering both of them his mothers. Jenny sang songs to him and surrounded him with love and care. Later, it was she who lent him money for a sloop, giving him all her savings.

When the son was not even a year old, the family was reunited. Flora married a widower farmer with daughters Louise and Ida. The family constantly moved. Disabled war veteran John London adopted Jack and gave him his last name. He grew up a strong, healthy child. He taught himself to read and write at the age of five, and since then he was constantly seen with a book in his hand. He even got caught for shirking household chores.

The stepfather became a real father to Jack. Until the age of 21, the boy had no idea that he was not his own. They fished together, went to the market, and hunted ducks. John gave him a real gun and a good fishing rod.

Young hard worker

There was always a lot to do on the farm. Coming home from school, Jack immediately went to work. He hated this “dull work,” as he called it. Even with great effort, this lifestyle did not lead to prosperity. The family rarely ate meat.

Finally broke, the family moved to Auckland. Jack London has always loved books, he becomes a regular at libraries here. He reads voraciously. When John was hit by a train and became crippled, thirteen-year-old Jack began to feed the whole family. I was done with my studies.

He worked as a newspaper seller, as an errand boy in a bowling alley, and as an ice deliverer. He gave all his earnings to his mother. From the age of 14 he becomes a worker at a cannery, and there is no time left for anything. But my head is free! And he thinks and thinks... Why do you need to turn into draft animals in order to live? Is there no other way to make money?

Jack himself believed that his job robbed him of his adolescence.

Oyster Pirate

Jack London did a lot of different things! His biography also includes piracy. Oyster fishing was regulated on the coast, and a patrol kept order. But sea romantics managed to illegally collect oysters under their noses and deliver them to a restaurant. There were frequent chases.

He was called the Prince of Oyster Pirates for his courage at age 15. He himself said that if he had been convicted of all sins before the law, he would have received a sentence of hundreds of years. Afterwards he already served on the other side, in the oyster patrol. It was no less dangerous: desperate pirates could take revenge.

At the age of 17, he enlists as a sailor and goes to the Japanese shores to get the seals.

How he started writing

When Jack was eight years old, he read a book about becoming famous writer an Italian peasant boy. From then on, he pondered, discussing with his sister, whether it was possible for him or not. teacher primary school gave him written assignments during music lessons. Then he began to call himself Jack. This was the beginning of his writing career.

At the age of 17, his essay, written based on his own impressions, “A Typhoon off the Coast of Japan,” was highly praised by the city newspaper of San Francisco. He writes about what he knows well, which he himself witnessed. At this moment, the writer Jack London was born. In 18 years he will write 50 books.

Jack London, personal life

While studying at the university, Jack met a young man whose sister, Mabel, seemed to be an unearthly creature. The girl liked this rude guy, but marriage is out of the question - how to provide for a family? Jack is sure that you can’t earn much with your hands. He needs knowledge, and he sits down at his desk.

Jack London writes stories with the same tenacity with which he worked on the assembly line. He writes and sends them to editors. But all manuscripts are returned. Then he becomes an ironer in a laundry until he leaves for Alaska. He doesn’t find any gold, returns home and works as a postman. Still writing. Manuscripts are still being returned.

But the story is accepted by a monthly magazine, paying a fee. Then another magazine accepted another work. The young couple decided to get married, but Mabel's mother was against it. In a funeral mood at the grave of a friend, he meets Bessie, mourning her groom. Their feelings coincided, and they became spouses.

Jack becomes famous writer, but Bessie is not interested in his work. House - full bowl and two daughters do not make him happy. Three years later, in 1904, he went to Charmian. This " new woman“, as the writer called her, is a true friend, they go through life together. They had no children, but with Charmian he sailed the Pacific Ocean.

She was his secretary, typing and answering letters. A true ally. She wrote a book about him. We now know first-hand what Jack London was like, whose biography was written down by his closest person. She outlived her husband by four years and wished to lie next to him after death.

Alaska

In 1987, America was covered gold rush. Jack and his sister's husband go to try their luck. This is where his sailor skills came in handy. His name was Wolf. All the whites were called that by the Indians, but Jack signed the letters “Wolf.” Later he will build the "Wolf House", dreaming of gathering friends there.

The area that was staked out was rich not in gold, but in mica. Scurvy finished off Jack, and he returned to home. As always, he was in need. He sat down to write. He had plenty to fill the pages with: during the long winter, he absorbed the stories of hunters, prospectors, Indians, postmen and traders.

Jack London filled his stories with their speech, their laws. Faith in goodness is the core of the entire Klondike series. He said that he found himself there. “Nobody talks there,” he wrote. “Everyone thinks.” Everyone, while there, received their own worldview. Jack got his.

Facts

Interesting facts about Jack London:

• He covered the events of the Russo-Japanese War, clearly condemning Japan's methods. When civil war broke out in Mexico, he returned to writing on the front lines.
• He went to circumnavigation. The sailing ship "Snark" was built according to his drawings. Charmian learned to sail the ship just like him. For two years they conquered the Pacific Ocean.

• He advocated for the protection of animals from cruelty.
• Films based on Jack London from 1910 to 2010 alone amount to a huge number - 136.
• Jack London Lake is in Russia, in the Magadan region.
• He is the first writer whose work brought in a million dollars.

Jack London for children

Unshakable faith in good start in man, the triumph of friendship over meanness, self-sacrifice true love- all these principles make the writer’s stories indispensable for raising children. When you can't see it in life around you worthy examples, literature saves:

• « White Fang"- a story that will not leave anyone indifferent. The adventures of the wolf dog and his gratitude for the friendship of his new owner completely change the nature of the animal. He even saves the house and those living in it from a dangerous criminal, and when the owner is in trouble, he tries to bark for the first time.
• “The Call of the Wild” is a story about a dog and written from its point of view, it nevertheless tells a lot about people icy desert developing the land.
• "Hearts of Three" are the first films based on Jack London. But even despite the many film adaptations, reading the book is still much more exciting.
• "White Silence" - stories about Alaska.

Jack London, whose books are in every library, fosters courage in the face of adversity. His heroes are strong noble people. He was like that himself.

Best books

The works of Jack London, the list of which includes 20 novels, can be divided according to the focus of the plot:

• This is, first of all, “Northern Stories”, the novel “Daughter of the Snows”.
• Then “Tales of the Fishing Patrol” and other sea works, the novel “ Sea wolf».
• Social works: “John the Barleycorn”, “People of the Abyss” and “Martin Eden”.
• "Tales of the South Seas", written from the voyages on the schooner "Snark".
• His dystopian novel " Iron heel"(1908) foreshadows the victory of fascism.
• "Moon Valley", "The Little Mistress" big house", where he describes life on the ranch using his own experiences.
• The play "Theft".
• Scenario "Heart of Three".

The works of Jack London (everyone has their own list of favorites) do not leave you indifferent. Some people like strength, struggle and victory over the elements. Others value love of life. Still others admire moral choice heroes.

To understand what it is like to freeze to death - to turn into an emotionless machine, to decide whether to live free or die - you can read the stories “The Bonfire”, “The Renegade” and “Kulau the Leper”.

Ranch Museum

When Jack became disillusioned with the talk about socialism, he became interested in the idea of ​​farming. Reasoning that everything comes from the earth - food, clothing, shelter - he literally started with himself, buying a barren ranch with depleted soil. At first, they didn’t collect anything from it, they just invested it.

The neighbors were surprised at the success of the newcomer: his pigs brought in several times more income. The owner simply bought purebred animals and cared for them according to science.

He named his ranch "Beauty" and lived here for the last 11 years. He insisted: “This is not a dacha, but a house in the village, because I am a farmer.” In the center of the valley of vineyards, among the heady smells, it was supposed to become the family nest of London. The “Wolf House”, similar to a castle, is being built. But on the eve of the housewarming he is burning. Jack is sure: arson. Now this skeleton stands as a monument to his good intentions.

After the death of the writer, a park and museum are located here. He bequeathed to bury himself immediately.

grave

The writer died on November 22, 1916 at his ranch in Glen Ellen. Even when he bought it, he noticed the fenced oak tree. It turned out to be the grave of the children of the first settlers of Greenlaw. “They must be very lonely here,” Jack said. He chose this place for himself as his last refuge.

Shortly before his death, he expressed his wish to his sister and Charmian that his ashes be buried on the hill where the Greenlaw children lie. And he ordered that a large red boulder be placed instead of a tombstone. And so it was done. The stone was taken out of the ruins of the “Wolf House” and carried on four horses.

It blended organically into the surrounding landscape. The fact that there is nothing on the grave made by human hands evokes many thoughts and feelings. He wanted it that way himself. And to this day his grave speaks silently.

“I love my ranch so much!” - we feel, looking around. “David and Lilly, you are no longer alone. I’m with you,” we understand the choice of place. “Don’t you dare erect a monument to me. “I’m not the Commander,” emanates from the stone. “Friends, I am with you. I'm in my books. These are my letters to you,” we realize the message years later.

Jack London; birth name: John Griffith Cheney; USA, San Francisco; 01/12/1876 – 11/22/1916

Jack London is an internationally recognized master of adventure and fantasy genre. Thanks to his socialist beliefs, his works rank second after among the most published foreign authors in the USSR. Jack London's books have been filmed more than once at the moment there are more than 100 films created based on his works. Jack London's contributions to world literature The popularity of his books is truly enormous and in our time is the best proof of their high quality.

Biography of Jack London

Jack London was born in 1876 in a working-class neighborhood of San Francisco. His birth was preceded by loud scandal related to his mother. According to her, Jack's father was astrologer William Cheney, but after the news of Flora Wellman's pregnancy, he demanded that she have an abortion. The girl made an unsuccessful attempt to shoot herself, which caused a wide outcry in society. Immediately after the birth, Flora left Jack London in the care of her former slave, Virginia Prentiss, who looked after the child until his mother married John London, who gave him new surname Flora's child.

John London was disabled Civil War and had two daughters. The eldest of them, Eliza, became true friend Jack London for life. Since the onset of the economic crisis in 1973, the London family traveled a lot in search of work. In this regard, John's training was sporadic and he graduated from school in Auckland. Here he became addicted to literature. This was possible thanks to a responsive librarian in local libraries, who in every possible way encouraged the boy’s desire for education.

Back in school years Jack London worked as a newspaper delivery boy, setting pins at a bowling alley, and many other small jobs. At the age of 14, he got a job at a canning factory, where he worked for almost a year. At the age of 15, he borrowed money from Virginia Prentiss, who had become close to him, and bought a small schooner, which allowed him to become an oyster pirate. An oyster pirate was a man who illegally caught oysters in the bays of San Francisco. When his schooner was damaged, he took a job on a fishing patrol that fought poaching. And already at the age of 18 he set off on his first long voyage on the whaling ship Sophie Sutherland. It was this voyage that formed the basis of Jack London’s first book, “A Typhoon Off the Coast of Japan,” which was published in 1893.

After this, Jack London took part in the march of the unemployed on Washington, for which he received a month in prison, joined the Socialist Party and is trying to continue his education. But lack of funds does not allow him to study at the University of California for more than three semesters, and he, succumbing to the gold rush, goes to Alaska. Here his endeavors are unsuccessful, but he gains invaluable experience for his future literary career. This is exactly what he begins to do immediately after returning from Alaska. In 1900, Jack London's first collection of short stories, Son of the Wolf, was published. In the same year he marries for the first time. From his marriage to Bessie Maddern he had two daughters, Bass and Joan. At the same time, he works 15–17 hours a day and his books “The God of His Fathers”, “Children of Frost” and others do not go unnoticed.

In 1905, Jack London married Charmian Kittredge, with whom he had been in love for about two years. By this time he was already a fairly well-known writer and with the proceeds he bought the Glen Ellen ranch in California. Since that time, he has increasingly devoted himself to agriculture, expanding his ranch and trying new technologies in agriculture. In this regard, he faces financial difficulties, due to which he has to write to order, and in 1914 even go to Mexico. Here he works as a war correspondent and justifies the actions of American soldiers who invaded Mexico. This caused a flurry of criticism against him from members of the Socialist Party, which partly became the reason for his resignation from the party. At this time, he increasingly abuses alcohol, which leads to kidney disease. In order to reduce pain, he is prescribed morphine, from an overdose of which Jack London ultimately died. Whether it was an accident or suicide is still debated by the writer’s biographers.

Books by Jack London on the Top books website

Jack London's books are so popular to read that they have been included in our site's ratings more than once. Most often, our rating includes the work of Jack London “Martin Eden”, which is presented in the school curriculum. Therefore, from time to time it is included in our rating. And given the dynamics of Jack London’s interest in reading, this is far from an isolated case and the writer’s books will continue to be presented in the ratings of our site.

The remarkable writer of the turn of the century, Jack London (his real name is John Griffith), wrote about the fate of ordinary people of your country. The writer's love for working people, the desire for social justice, hatred of selfishness and greed are close and understandable to democratic readers around the world. Young people read his novels, stories, and stories with enthusiasm.

Born into the family of an impoverished farmer, London began working as a newspaper seller, a cannery worker, and traveled many roads in search of income. It was then that London learned the fate of the working people of capitalist America, whom unemployment turned into homeless vagabonds. He sailed as a sailor on a fishing schooner in Pacific Ocean, changed many professions and, finally, “sick” with the so-called gold fever, in 1897 he went to Alaska, where gold had been discovered shortly before. He did not manage to get rich, but the impressions he received in Alaska served him as material for his first fascinating stories about the struggle of man with the harsh northern nature.

Already early works London (collection of stories “Northern Odyssey”, “Tales of the South Seas”) is attracted by his love of nature and the romance of adventure. His brave heroes live far from capitalist cities, from the world of self-interest and predation. These are energetic people who are loyal in their friendship. This is Mason in the story “White Silence”. He is crushed by a tree, but is not afraid of death. His last concern is not about himself, but about his companions. Mason asks that they not risk their lives for him and continue on their way to human habitation.

Courage and perseverance help the almost dying man in the story “Love of Life” to defeat the wolf. V.I. Lenin really liked this story by D. London.

The writer has many works (“White Fang”, “The Call of the Wild”, “Michael, Brother Jerry”), where he portrays animals with deep knowledge and warmth.

Jack London, who experienced humiliation and the severe torments of unemployment, knew well that it is not only harsh nature that a person is forced to fight when defending personal freedom. The writer sees the path to genuine freedom for people in the struggle against social injustice. He develops these thoughts in the famous novel “The Iron Heel” (1907), which at one time was read by workers in many countries. The novel conveyed confidence in the victory of the socialist revolution over the world of capitalist evil, despite possible temporary defeats. During this period, Jack London was directly involved in the American labor movement, but stepped aside during its quiet years. One of the best and most profound books in London, the novel Martin Eden (1909), is dedicated to the fate of the writer in bourgeois society, tragic even if he eventually achieved fame and fortune. The hero of the work, Martin Eden, is a man of the people. At the cost of enormous efforts and sacrifices, he managed to fulfill his dream and become a famous writer. But fame brought him only a feeling of deep disappointment and spiritual emptiness. Eden saw how selfish and insignificant the people who had previously seemed to him to be carriers of culture were. He came to the false conclusion that no one needs true art, the art of truth. In a state of deep spiritual loneliness and disappointment in his creative capabilities, Martin commits suicide.

In recent years, London has written several small-scale, artistically weak works, trying to adapt to the limited tastes of the bourgeois-philistine reader.

But we appreciate best books London, in which his love of freedom, respect for creative energy, courage, human strength are revealed, where passionate love the author to the majestic and inexhaustible beauty of nature.

Real name John Griffith Cheney(John Griffith Chaney). Born January 12, 1876 in San Francisco. The future writer's mother, Flora Wellman, was a music teacher and was interested in spiritualism, claiming that she had a spiritual connection with an Indian leader. She became pregnant by astrologer William Cheney, with whom she lived for some time in San Francisco. Having learned about Flora's pregnancy, William began to insist that she have an abortion, but she categorically refused and, in a fit of despair, 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 for London important person throughout his life. At the end of the same 1876, Flora married John London, a disabled veteran of the American Civil War, after which she took the baby back to her. The boy's name began to be 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 school.

Jack London began an independent working life full of hardships early. As a schoolboy, he sold morning and evening newspapers. After graduating from primary school at the age of fourteen, he entered a canning factory as a worker. The work was very hard, and he left the factory. He was an “oyster pirate,” illegally catching oysters in San Francisco Bay (described in “Tales of the Fishing Patrol”). In 1893, he hired himself as a sailor on a fishing schooner, going to catch seals on the shores of Japan and in the Bering Sea. The first voyage gave London many vivid impressions, which later formed the basis for many of its 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 and for which he received first prize from a San Francisco newspaper, was published on November 12, 1893.

In 1894 he took part in the march of the unemployed on Washington (essay “Hold On!”), after which he spent a month in prison for vagrancy (“Straitjacket”). In 1895 he joined the Socialist Workers Party of the USA, from 1900 (some sources indicate 1901) - a member of the Socialist Party of the USA, from which he left in 1914 (some sources indicate 1916); The statement cited the loss of faith in its “fighting spirit” as the reason for the break with the party.

Having prepared independently and successfully passed 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 delights of the northern winter. Instead of gold, fate gifted Jack London with meetings with the future heroes of his works.

He began to study literature more seriously at the age of 23, after returning from Alaska: his first northern stories were published in 1899, and already in 1900 his first book was published - a collection of stories “Son of the Wolf”. This was followed by the following collections of stories: “The God of His Fathers” (Chicago, 1901), “Children of the Frost” (New York, 1902), “Faith in Man” (New York, 1904), “The Face of the Moon” (New York) , 1906), “The Lost Face” (New York, 1910), as well as the novels “Daughter of the Snows” (1902), “The Sea Wolf” (1904), “Martin Eden” (1909), which created the widest popularity for the writer. The writer worked very hard, 15-17 hours a day. And he managed to write about 40 magnificent books during his entire not very long career. writing career.

In 1902, London visited England, actually London, which gave him material for writing the book People of the Abyss, which, to the surprise of many, was successful in the USA, unlike England. Upon returning to America, he reads in different cities lectures, predominantly of a socialist nature, and organizes departments of the “General Student Society”. In 1904-05 London works as a war correspondent for Russo-Japanese War. In 1907 the writer undertakes trip around the world. By this time, thanks to high fees, London becomes a wealthy man.

Jack London was very popular in the USSR and Russia, not least due to his sympathies for the ideas of socialism, membership in the Socialist workers' party, and also as a writer who glorifies the inflexibility of the spirit and life values intangible nature (friendship, honesty, hard work, justice), which 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 the highest paid writer in America. His fee reached up to 50 thousand dollars per book, which was a fantastic amount. However, the writer himself never gave anyone any reason to accuse himself of writing for money. He missed them - it would be more accurate to put it that way. And in the novel “Martin Eden,” the most autobiographical of all his works, Jack London showed the death of the soul of the young writer and his beloved under the influence of the thirst for money. The thirst for life was the idea of ​​his works, but not the thirst for gold.

In recent years London has been experiencing creative crisis, and therefore began to abuse alcohol (later 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 to beginners American writer Sinclair Lewis. London managed to give the future novel a title - “The Murder Bureau” - but he managed to write very little, since he soon died.

London died on November 22, 1916 in Glen Ellen, California. Recent years he suffered from kidney disease (uremia) and died from poisoning from prescribed morphine.

The most famous version among the public is suicide, but doctors note that London did not have sufficient knowledge to calculate lethal dose morphine, nor serious reasons for suicide (he did not leave suicide note and chose a completely “unmanly” method). Deliberate self-poisoning began to spread in later times - just remember the fate of Sigmund Freud. But the fact that the very reasoning about the sources of suicide existed in his head is unambiguous. Thus, his beloved hero Martin Eden quite meaningfully commits suicide, being in a depressed state due to unfulfilled expectations about the principles of the existence of the “higher” American society and psychological fatigue from work. Related topic the story “Semper Idem” is also dedicated; 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 came from his “northern stories,” in his work he repeatedly addressed the themes and problems of SF. Already in the first published story, “A Thousand Deaths,” a scientist uses his own son as a test subject, conducting experiments on rejuvenation; dedicated to the same topic humorous story"The Rejuvenation of Major Rathbone" (1899). In “The Shadow and the Flash,” the idea of ​​an invisible man is realized using scientific methods, and in the story “The Enemy of the Whole World” (1908) - a superweapon that gives power over the world. Main character story "The Red Deity" (1918), discovers a tribe lost in the jungle who worship a mysterious sphere from outer space. Racist ideas of "burden" white man”, at one time shared by London, found expression in the story “An Unusual Invasion” (1910), in which the “white” nations carry out genocide against the Chinese (the latter are simply poisoned like insects from the air) in order to establish a utopia on Earth.

Some famous works London is devoted to the problems of evolution. In Before Adam (1906), which undoubtedly inspired William Golding's The Descendants, genetic memory allows consciousness modern man travel to the prehistoric past, where “progress” (People of Fire) is gradually displacing the innocent children of Nature from the historical scene. 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 Splinter of the Tertiary Epoch” we talk about another relic - a mammoth that has survived to this day.

The soul of the hero of the novel “Interstellar Wanderer” (1915), a prisoner in an American prison, without any scientific justification is capable of “spiritually” traveling through time, incarnating in previous reincarnations of the hero, from a Roman legionnaire to an American pioneer settler. The world after the catastrophe, which has returned to primitive barbarism, is impressively depicted in the story “The Scarlet Plague” (1912).

London’s political views determined the appearance of his utopian works, of which the most famous, the novel “The Iron Heel” (1907), belongs to the peaks of the writer’s creativity and literary utopia (or dystopia) of the beginning of the century. Back in the 27th century, historians are studying documents dating back to the end of the 20th century, in which the United States groans under the rule of a fascist oligarchy; The struggle of the oppressed proletariat against capital is just heating up, but from the prologue it is clear that over time it will lead to success. London has written a number of stories on the same theme: “A Curious Passage” (1907), again introducing the sinister figure of the oligarch ruler; “Goliath” (1908), the hero of which invents a new source of energy and with its help establishes a worldwide “proletarian dictatorship”; in the treatise story “Debs's Dream” (1909), the socialist revolution wins throughout the world as a result of a general strike.

Collections have been repeatedly published abroad fantastic works Jack London, the composition of which varied markedly, depending on the task of the compiler. A similar collection was published in Russian in 1993, when the compiler Vil Bykov tried to collect all the translated science fiction under one cover. short prose Jack London.

(V. Gakov, with changes)

(estimates: 3 , average: 3,67 out of 5)

Jack London, whose real name is John Griffith Cheney, was born in the middle of winter - January 12, 1876 in the States. The parents of the future writer cannot be called ordinary: John’s mother was always stubborn, self-willed, and besides, she was involved in spiritualism; his father was an astrologer and loved adventure, which was inherited by Jack London.

Little John received the surname “London” when he was not even a year old. During this time, his mother married a Civil War veteran, John London. Soon my stepfather's surname became creative pseudonym writer. By the way, Jack is just a shortened version of the name John.

Jack was used to hard work since childhood: as a schoolboy, he sold newspapers. To earn money, he got up before dawn. Both before and after classes the boy returned to work. Oddly enough, this did not stop him from reading: as a child, Jack liked adventure literature most of all.

Jack London loved the sea no less than books, so at the age of thirteen he bought a small boat with his own money. On it he took boat trips, fished and read.

When Jack turned fifteen, he had to get a job in a canning factory, since the family had almost no money left to live on. The conditions at the factory were terrible, the wages were pitiful, and people were injured every day. Energetic Jack could not stand the monotony mechanical work, so I started looking for alternative ways to make money. So he began to engage in illegal oyster fishing and, wild life, spent all his earnings on drinking bouts. Having come to his senses in time, Jack hired a ship for legal work - catching fur seals.

In general, in my youth future writer managed to try almost all the “delights” of life: after working on a ship for six months, he joined the march of the unemployed, and as a result lived for the same amount of time with vagabonds. During this period, Jack decides to get an education and start a writing career. Now he began his intellectual work: he graduated high school and even passed the entrance exam to the University of California, Berkeley. But since young London did not have enough money, he had to give up his studies.

Jack began writing his first stories and novels at the age of 22. All his works were constantly returned from the editorial offices of newspapers and magazines, which soon served as the basis for writing a novel. After six months of persistent unsuccessful attempts, his story was finally published.

The dizzying success became a real gift of fate for Jack London: now he earned incomparably more than ever and could afford everything he wanted. Yes, the writer, who grew up in poverty, highly valued his wealth.

Jack London lived only forty years, but managed to write more than two hundred stories, novellas and novels. His works became known throughout the world, and “White Fang” and “Hearts of Three” were included in school curriculum. But the main thing is not even this, but the fact that this man, thanks to his perseverance, courage and hard work, managed to make his dream come true.

Jack London, bibliography

All books by Jack London:

Novels

• 1902 - “Daughter of the Snows”
• 1903 - ""
• 1903 - “Letters from Campton to Wes”
• 1904 — " "
• 1906 - ""
• 1908 - ""
• 1909 - ""
• 1910 — “Time-can’t-wait”
• 1911 - “Adventure”
• 1912 - “The Scarlet Plague”
• 1913 - ""
• 1914 - "Mutiny on Elsinore"
• 1915 — "