Jack London

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Born |  January 12, 1876
San Francisco, California
Died |  November 22, 1916
Glen Ellen, California
Spouse |  Elizabeth Bessie Maddern,
Charmian Kittrege

Jack London (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) was a famous American writer, journalist and novelist of the early 20th century. At his peak he was the best-paid writer in the United States, but still struggled to cover his extravagant expenses. His books are among the most translated of any American author, with a massive printing of one of his novels selling out within hours in the Soviet Union.

## Contents

* 1 Biography
* 2 Works
* 3 References
* 4 External links

## Biography[edit]

Born John Griffith Chaney, he had a traumatic early life, two troubled marriages, and a death shrouded in mystery. After engaging in "oyster pirating," becoming a tramp, and getting a grueling, low-paying job, he went to the University of California at Berkeley in 1896, only to stay a year and fail to graduate. He joined the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897, during which he developed Scurvy. However, some of his best known and most successful stories, such as the Call of the Wild and White Fang, were based on his Gold Rush experiences.

London became a socialist, and his political leanings are revealed in some of his writing, especially the less-known The Iron Heel, an early pro-socialist dystopian novel. In 1905, he was among the founding members of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society.

The cause of his death is unknown. In the past it was usually claimed to be suicide. However, there is no real proof of this, and it is based heavily on events in his fiction. In the present day, his death is usually credited to uremia, a type of blood-poisoning related to renal (kidney) failure.[1]

## Works[edit]

* A Daughter of the Snows (1902)
* To Build a Fire (1902)
* The Call of the Wild (1903)
* The People of the Abyss (1903)
* The Kempton-Wace Letters (1903)
* How I Became a Socialist (1903)
* The Sea-Wolf (1904)
* The War of the Classes (1905)
* White Fang (1906)
* Before Adam (1907)
* The Iron Heel (1908)
* Martin Eden (1909)
* Lost Face (1910)
* Adventure (1911)
* South Sea Tales (1911)
* The Scarlet Plague (1912)
* John Barleycorn (1913)
* The Valley of the Moon (1913)
* The Mutiny of the Elsinore (1914)
* The Star Rover (1915)
* The Little Lady of the Big House (1916)
* Jerry of the Islands (1917)
* The Assassination Bureau, Ltd. (1963, incomplete)

## References[edit]

1. ↑ http://www.jacklondons.net/nosuicide.html

## External links[edit]

* Jack London: A Sketch of His Life and Work
* The Book of Jack London, Volume 1, by his second wife Charmian Kittridge London'
* Jack London
* Works by Jack London - text and free audio \- LibriVox