Jack London is a famous American writer, prose writer, socialist, journalist and public figure. He painted his works in the style of realism and naturalism.

Most of all, London gained fame as an author of adventure stories and novels. Over the years, he managed to create many works that have become classics.

So in front of you Brief biography of Jack London.

Biography of London

Jack London (born John Griffith Cheney) was born on January 12, 1876 in the city of San Francisco,.

His mother, Flora Wellman, was the daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur. In her youth, she was fond of music, after which she developed an interest in spiritualism. She repeatedly admitted that she had some kind of spiritual connection with the Indian leader.

Soon, Wellman met Jack London's future father, William Cheney, who was also involved in esotericism.

He led an ascetic life and was seriously interested in sea voyages. Soon they began to cohabit, after which Flora became pregnant.

Upon learning of the pregnancy, William began to insist on an abortion. However, the girl was categorically against this and, ultimately, gave birth to a great writer. This story immediately comes to mind.

In this regard, Cheney left his family and moved to another city.

In the future, Jack London will try to meet his father, but all these attempts will not be successful. An interesting fact is that William did not read a single work of his brilliant son.

Childhood and youth

Since London's mother was keenly interested in social life, she practically did not study the boy.

As a result, he was placed in the care of a black nanny, Jenny Prinster. According to Jack London, she became his second mother.

Soon, Flora married a former soldier, John London, who was a decent and good-natured person.

Interestingly, young Jack quickly found a common language with his stepfather, and was attached to him throughout his life.

Due to the fact that many of London's works are filled with optimism, they help the reader to believe in their own strength and never lose heart.

Personal life

By nature, Jack London was a very cheerful and interesting person. There was always a kind smile on his face that endeared people to him. The Russian reader can easily find in him a resemblance to the incredibly charming in life.

The first wife in the biography of Jack London was Bessie Maddern, whom he married in 1900. In this marriage, they had 2 girls, Bess and Joan.

However, after 4 years of marriage, London left the family for Charmian Kittredge, who had confessed her love to him for a long time.

In 1905, Charmian and Jack decided to get married officially. It is worth noting that the second wife of London, like him, loved all kinds of travel and had an adventurous character.

Death

In the last years of his life, a crisis began in London's creative biography. Having exhausted himself as a writer, he began to look at literature with contempt. During this period, he began to drink more and lead an immoral lifestyle.

Despite the fact that he later managed to get rid of, alcohol greatly undermined Jack London's health.

His kidneys hurt badly, as a result of which he was forced to use morphine, which helped him temporarily forget about excruciating pains. As a result, he died precisely from an overdose of morphine.

Some biographers of London believe that he intentionally took a large dose of morphine because he wanted to commit suicide. However, there are no reliable facts confirming this version.

Jack London died on November 22, 1916 at the age of 40. The writer was buried in Glen Ellen State Park in California. This park will later be named after him.

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Jack London is the author of the famous novels "White Fang", "Jerry the Islander", "Hearts of Three" and others. The reader knows London as a young man with a strong-willed chin and kind eyes. It is this portrait that is depicted on many of his books. But the writer's life was not very happy, if not tragic...

Childhood and youth

Jack London is from San Francisco. It was there in the winter of 1876 that little John Cheney was born. He was an unwanted child, and his mother even tried to commit suicide while pregnant. The sophisticated music teacher Flora Wellman was easily hurt morally, which was what her lover, Professor William Cheney, did. He categorically did not want a child and by all means brought the woman. As a result, the baby was born, but the father refused him. In the future, Jack London will write letters to him with questions about biological paternity, to which he will receive negative answers.

Flora by all means needed to feed the child, and for this she needed a husband. Leaving her newborn son to her slave Virginia Prentiss, she began to search for a life partner, which was quickly crowned with success. Little John was less than a year old when the woman married the namesake of her son John, who bore the proud surname London.

The stepfather accepted the child of his wife with joy, and surrounded him with care. In the new family, the boy began to be called Jack (this is a diminutive derivative of the name John). His childhood passed during the years of a severe economic crisis, so instead of studying, the boy often ran to the square to sell newspapers and earn extra money in a bowling alley. At the age of 14, he bought an old boat for $ 300 borrowed from his nanny and began to illegally catch oysters. Accustomed to working "on the water", at the age of 17, Jack gets a job as a sailor on a fishing schooner and goes to the shores of Japan. This journey made a very strong impression on young London, which formed the basis of many of his future novels.

The beginning of the creative path

After traveling to Japan in November 1893, Jack London publishes his short essay in a San Francisco newspaper. For the next 3 years, he is engaged only in physical labor and even manages to sit in prison. This is how new essays "Hold on" and "Straitjacket" are born. London begins to realize that intellectual work is more highly paid, and writing itself is of interest to him. But the spirit of adventurism still does not leave the young guy, and in 1896 he goes to Alaska to look for gold.

Upon his return to San Francisco, Jack London published two more works inspired by the impressions of the snowy area: "The Daughter of the Snows" and "People of the Abyss". Starting to receive money for books, Jack gets the opportunity to breathe deeply and start a family. His wife is Elizabeth Maddern, who gave birth to two daughters to the writer. After 3 years (in 1903) London leaves the family and marries Charmaine Kittredge.

Features of creativity

Jack London is a writer and works 16 hours a day. It was this persistence and diligence that enabled him to write more than 40 books in his short career as a writer.

The stories and novels of London win the reader's attention with a special artistic method: the writer masterfully conveys the emotions and feelings of the characters who find themselves in a difficult life situation. Each of his characters is very rich spiritually, even if it is a poor man. There is no fantasy in the works of Jack London, but the events are described so captivatingly, and the characters live the events with such adventurous romanticism that reading is addictive, captivating and does not allow you to tear yourself away from the book.

last years of life

In 1913, London published an autobiographical story called Jack Barleycorn. It describes the hero's thoughts about suicide. The writer himself suffered from uremia and was often prescribed morphine to relieve pain. Perhaps his death, caused by an overdose of the substance, is somehow connected with the work. In November 1916, Jack London died. The writer was only 40.

• "Love of Life", a fictional analysis of Jack London's short story

A master of adventure stories and novels, American writer Jack London was second only to H.K. Andersen for the publication of works by foreign authors in the USSR.The boy was born in the winter of 1876, he was born in San Francisco. The boy's mother, Flora Wellman, was carried away by William Cheney, who was engaged in astrology, just as she herself was fond of esotericism, from whom she began to expect a child. Cheney, shocked by the fact that he would soon become a father, ordered Flora to get rid of the fetus. The woman refused, and, offended by such an offer, decided to die. Using firearms, she only slightly wounded herself. In the periodicals of that period, there was a general condemnation of the act of William Cheney, on the basis of which he resolutely refused to recognize himself as a father. When Jack London was just over 20 years old, he sent Cheney a letter where he wanted to know the truth about his birth, but Cheney completely denied this fact. After the birth of the child, Flora gave him to be raised by her former maid Virginia Prentiss, and the baby was under her care until Flora joined her life with John London.
When John London married Flora, he gave his name to the son of his newly-made wife. In the future, becoming a writer, Flora's son began to sign his stepfather's name, using a diminutive form of his name. Having got married, the London family decided on a place of residence in the southern district of San Francisco. During this period, America was subject to a severe economic crisis. People survived as best they could, experiencing severe unemployment. John London took up farming several times. Jack's mother, an adventurer in life, was looking for ways to get rich instantly, and all John's attempts at a settled life came to naught. Unemployment and a constant hunger strike led to the fact that the London family had to change their place of residence all the time. They finally settled in Oakland, where Jack was able to get his primary education.

Independent life of Jack London

Experiencing material deprivation, Jack began to work from childhood. While studying at school, the boy was engaged in the sale of newspapers, cleaned the pavilions, worked part-time in bowling alleys. At the age of 14, when he received his primary education, Jack was hired to work in a canning factory. The work was physically overwhelming for the teenager, and he left the factory.

Turning to his guardian for help, he received from her a sum of money sufficient to buy an old schooner. Jack engaged in not entirely legal activities - he poached oysters and delivered them to restaurants. Jack's childhood ended early, at the age of 15 he already got a girlfriend. The resolute and courageous disposition of the fearless pirate attracted the attention of a fishing patrol to him, who lured the guy to his side.

At the age of 17, London began working on a schooner that caught seals. Upon returning home, Jack worked as a fireman, ironed linen, worked in various factories. All the impressions received by Jack during his career are reflected in his books.
In 1893, an essay on London's adventures off the Japanese coast was awarded the main prize of one of the San Francisco newspapers, and this was the beginning of the literary activity of an outstanding author.

Growing up Jack London

A rebel and a daredevil, London supports the rights of the unemployed. Together with them, wandering along the roads of America, Jack was arrested for a vagrant lifestyle, and spent a whole month in captivity. Wandering along the endless roads of America, earning a living by overwork, the young man comes to the conclusion that physically hard work is exhausting morally, devastating the soul, and the person turns into a “working animal”. Jack decided that only intellectual work would not let him fall to the bottom of life, and he seeks to try success in the literary field.

He carefully studied socialist principles, familiarizing himself with the works of Marx and Engels. After, having lost hope for the decisiveness of the socialist party, Jack left it. He returns to his home, with the desire to get a secondary education. London does not like long studies for secondary education, he leaves the school and is engaged in self-preparation for the exams at the University of California. A young man easily enters a higher educational institution, but financial difficulties lead to the fact that, after completing the 3rd semester, he is forced to leave his studies.

"Golden fever"

The "gold rush" began, crowds of people rushed to Alaska. Having absorbed a share of adventurism from his mother, London could not stay away from the "gold" boom. In 1897, a young man went in search of gold. Alas, there was no gold in the staked area, moreover, London was attacked by scurvy. A year later he had to return home. Not finding the golden sand, London brought with him a lot of impressions, meeting new people who later became the heroes of his works.

Returning from Alaska, London came to grips with literature. He was only 23 years old when his publications brought great fame to the young author. The writer worked fruitfully, in his short life he created about forty books. The genre of London's works combines a pronounced realism, imbued with the spirit of adventurism and romance. He tried to describe his heroes at the crossroads of fate, experiencing hardships and hardships.

After visiting England in the early 1900s, the writer creates the book "People of the Abyss". The book was accepted by the US public quite well, which cannot be said about England. Returning to the States, London is engaged in lecturing on the socialist direction.

Personal life

At the age of 24, Jack London marries the bride of a deceased comrade. Bassie Madern became the mother of two daughters. However, after three years he fell in love with another girl, and left his wife. Two years later he married Charmian Kittredge.

In 1907, London sets off on a journey around the world on the Snark ship, made according to his drawings. The planned enterprise had to be interrupted due to the serious illness of the writer. The accumulated literary material allowed the writer to create several books. The big money received by London for its publications turned him into a wealthy person. By investing his fortune in unpromising enterprises, trying to introduce agricultural innovations on the area of ​​\u200b\u200bhis ranch, London found himself in huge debts. To pay off the debt, Jack London had to earn hack work, compose opuses for the needs of newspapermen. At one time, literary work became disgusting to the writer.

As a military correspondent in Mexico, London began to publish articles supporting the US policy of meddling in the affairs of other states. These articles provoked a deep protest from his party comrades-in-arms.

Last years

Shortly before his death, the great writer felt a creative crisis. Literary inaction led the writer to alcohol abuse. Although he quit drinking, the creative crisis was so deep that London had to buy the plot for his next novel from another author. The death of the writer prevented the novel from finishing. An eminent American writer of multifaceted talent died of an overdose of a morphine-based painkiller. The young writer was not even 41 years old.

It is still unknown whether this was a conscious step, or a simple accident.

LONDON, JACK (London, Jack) (1876−1916), American writer. Born January 12, 1876 in San Francisco. At birth he was named John Cheney, but eight months later, when his mother married, he became John Griffith London. The youth of London came at a time of economic depression and unemployment, the financial situation of the family became increasingly precarious. By the age of twenty-three, he changed many occupations, was arrested for vagrancy and speaking at socialist rallies, was a prospector in Alaska during the "gold rush".

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.

In 1900, London published his first book, The Son of the Wolf. In the next seventeen years, he published two or even three books a year: collections of short stories, novels - such as The Call of the Wild (The Call of the Wild, 1903); novels, the best of which is the autobiographical Martin Eden (Martin Eden, 1909); documentary works - such as the People of the Abyss (The People of Abyss, 1903); an autobiographical treatise on alcoholism by John Barleycorn (John Barleycorn, 1913), a tragic argument in favor of Prohibition; as well as political writings that expounded revolutionary socialist views, such as The Iron Heel (The Iron Heel, 1907), which revealed the reactionary nature of capitalism and predicted the emergence of fascism, and the class struggle (The War of the Classes, 1905). London died in Glen Ellen (pc. California) November 22, 1916.

Jack London was born on January 12, 1876 in San Francisco, USA. He was an illegitimate son and was named John Cheney at birth. Eight months after his birth, John's mother married and from that moment he became John Griffith London. During times of economic depression and unemployment, his seed had a very hard time and was on the verge of bankruptcy. At twenty-three, Jack tried his hand at many fields of activity, even being a trustee in Alaska during the Gold Rush. He was also arrested many times for his statements at socialist rallies and for the fact that he often wandered.

Adhering to the images of thought of F. Nietzsche, K. Marx, G. Spencer, Jack London created his own philosophy. Thinking in a socialist direction, he concluded that in times of capitalism the best solution was to earn a living by writing. Jack began his work as a short story writer for Overland Monthly, and soon he is capturing the attention of the entire East Coast with his stories of adventures in Alaska.

London published his first brainchild, the book Son of the Wolf, in 1900. For the next seventeen years, he wrote and published two to three books a year: for example, The Call of the Wild, 1903, and other collections of short stories and novels; documentary creations - "People of the Abyss" 1903; many political stories, where he described revolutionary socialist views and showed the whole nature of capitalism, in the same place foreshadowed the emergence of fascism - "The Struggle of Classes" in 1905, "The Iron Heel" in 1907; "Martin Eden" 1909 - the best of his novels; wrote an autobiographical treatise in favor of "prohibition" - "John Barleycorn" 1913. Jack London died at the age of forty on November 22, 1916, in Glen Ellen, California.

Name: Jack London

Age: 40 years

Place of Birth: San Francisco, California, USA

A place of death: Glen Ellen, California, USA

Activity: writer

Family status: was married

Jack London - Biography

A writer whose work has been read. His adventures in books fascinated, forced to experience vivid emotions. The heroes of Jack London were from reality. Where did the writer get the stories from? Why are they so realistic? The circulation of this author in the Soviet Union overtook the circulation of Andersen's books.

Childhood, writer's family

The heroes of the writer London are believed because the author took them from his life. He tried to find and expose mistakes and shortcomings from childhood. And a true American can find quite a lot of them, since in America there is no concept of "justice". John was born in a harsh winter to an even harsher father, William Cheney. He did not want to recognize his son, who was still in the womb.

Jack London - Craving for reading

Health Jack was heroic, had a great desire for learning. He even taught himself to read, and from the age of five he no longer parted with the book. The adoptive father was a farmer, and he had to work a lot, but the family did not drown in luxury. Farming fell into a loss, and the family moved to another place, in Auckland. After a misfortune in the family, the thirteen-year-old teenager Jack lay down all the worries of making money. The boy stopped studying, got a job at various jobs: a newspaper seller, a carrier and an ice peddler. Mother needed money, and Jack gave her his earnings.

The adult life of Jack London

At the age of fourteen, Jack learned what a factory and work are like an adult. London philosophizes a lot while his hands are working. Perhaps that is why it was so easy to write to Jack London in the future, because he learned and experienced a lot in his personal biography. He was even a lawbreaker when he took up oyster mining. Jack was incredibly bold and daring, and for this he received, among his fellow oyster pirates, the title of Prince. Then he gets a job in an oyster patrol, then as a sailor on a ship heading to the shores of Japan.

What are Jack London's books about?

All of Jack London's works are based on his many adventures. The writer is young, but full of the will to win, he writes his stories and novels for days, with very little rest. Having moved to London, the author creates masterpieces for all time: his "White Fang" and "Martin Eden" were read by everyone. The heroes had to overcome failures in life and all sorts of difficulties, as London did. His entire biography is a continuous overcoming of difficulties.

All the books of the young Jack London differ from the full tragedy of the work of a mature writer. London suffered from kidney problems, recently he used morphine for pain relief, death came from an overdose.

Jack London - biography of personal life

While still at university, Jack meets the sister of his good friend. The girl was sweet and gentle, and the guy, who was not afraid of the sea devil himself, was rude. Although this dissimilarity to many well-groomed guys attracted Mabel. The young man understands that money is needed to get married and support a family, he writes story books, but they refuse to publish them.

He starts ironing clothes, goes to Alaska for gold, but returns without the expected booty, he only got sick with scurvy, and gets a job as a postman. Again the stories return, but not all, one after the other, two works of London are printed.

There is no mutual understanding in marriage, and Jack leaves for another woman. His new life partner Charmian Kittredge shared all the hardships of the writer, went on trips with him, helped her husband in every possible way.

Jack London - Bibliography, books

call of the ancestors
- Sea wolf
- White Fang
- Martin Eden
- Scarlet Plague
- John Barleycorn
- Straitjacket
- Little mistress of a big house
- Jerry the Islander
- Hearts of three