Introduction


Jack London

It’s no surprise that Jack London wrote rugged adventure stories. He was mainly raised by a former slave named Virginia Prentiss due to his mother’s illness. His father left the family when Jack was just a baby, and London began working in a cannery when he was just thirteen. After that, he spent several years as a sailor. He went back to California a few years later and began writing about his experiences. London joined in the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897 and developed scurvy, along with several other health problems. A year later, he began his writing career in earnest and went on to author many short stories and novels including his best-known work, The Call of the Wild, which is still popular to this day.

Essential Facts

  1. Many people speculate that London’s father was William Chaney, a famous astrologer. It’s difficult to know for certain because most San Francisco civil records were destroyed in the earthquake of 1906.
  2. London almost quit writing when he was offered a mere $5 for his first published story.
  3. London was often accused of plagiarism, partly because he based many of his stories on newspaper and magazine articles.
  4. Some praise London for his views on minorities, and others criticize him for being concerned, like many other Californians at the time, about Asian immigration.
  5. Jack London’s death continues to be a mystery. There is a great deal of controversy over whether it was uremia or suicide by morphine overdose.
 

Recommended Resources

  1. The Call of the Wild eText
  2. The Call of the Wild Lesson Plan
  3. The Call of the Wild Study Guide (eNotes)
  4. To Build a Fire Study Guide (eNotes)
  5. White Fang Summary Study Guide (eNotes)

All Resources

Display as: Categories, List
  1. Jack London Biography
  2. Jack London Biography / Profile
  3. Jack London Biography / Profile
  4. Jack London Biography / Profile
  5. Jack London Biography / Profile
  6. Jack London Biography / Profile
  7. Jack London Biography / Profile
  8. Jack London To Build a Fire Criticism
  9. Jack London's The Call of the Wild: Videohound Movie Retriever
  10. Jack London, Hemingway, and the Constitution Review - E. L. Doctorow
  11. Jack London: Videohound Movie Retriever
  12. London, Jack (John Griffith London): The Oxford Companion to American Literature
  13. London, Jack (John) Griffith: The Oxford Companion to English Literature
  14. London, Jack 1876-1916 - 1900's The Arts
  15. The Call of the Wild Character Analysis
  16. The Call of the Wild eText
  17. The Call of the Wild Lesson Plan
  18. The Call of the Wild Review - John Griffith Chaney
  19. The Call of the Wild Review - John Griffith Chaney
  20. The Call of the Wild Study Guide (eNotes)
  21. The Call of the Wild Summary - John Griffith Chaney
  22. The Sea-Wolf Character Analysis
  23. The Sea-Wolf Review - John Griffith Chaney
  24. The Sea-Wolf Review - John Griffith Chaney
  25. The Sea-Wolf Review - John Griffith Chaney
  26. The Sea-Wolf Summary - John Griffith Chaney
  27. The Sea-Wolf Summary / Study Guide
  28. To Build a Fire eText
  29. To Build a Fire Study Guide (eNotes)
  30. To Build a Fire Summary - John Griffith Chaney
  31. White Fang eText
  32. White Fang Lesson Plan
  33. White Fang Summary - John Griffith Chaney
  34. White Fang Summary Study Guide (eNotes)