Jack London

"I wrote a thousand words every day"

Jack London is the name you can hear everywhere, his writing appealed to millions of people all around the world. London was an American novelist and short-story writer, who wrote passionately about questions of life and death, surviving. The writer had a lot of adventures, experienced the life at sea, or in Alaska, or in the fields and factories of California, all of these influenced his writing style. Jack London descended from the family of his mother Flora and astrologer and journalist William Chaney. The writer has got his education by himself and with help of a librarian Ina Coolbrith - he has a passion to read books at public libraries. Later in life, Jack finally graduated from high school in Oakland. Jack London’s work carrier was so variable, he has been a laborer, factory worker, and oyster pirate on the San Francisco Bay, member of the California Fish Patrol, sailor, railroad hob, and gold prospector. Yes, gold prospecting was the big part of his life, when the young writer with his brother-in-law sailed to join the Klondike Gold Rush where he would set his first successful stories. Jack London was a hard-worker, he tried never miss his early morning 1,000-word writing stint, what helped him to write over fifty books between 1900 and 1916. In addition to it, he corresponded with his readers, and made huge researches for improving his writing style, what is, obviously, genius. The consequences of such a hard work became the fact that Jack London had become the best selling, highest paid and most popular American author of his time. Many authors and social advocates have been inspired by Jack London’s heartfelt prose, and readers travel and experience so much through his books.

Jack London was not Jack London at first. His real name was John Griffith Chaney, or just Johnny. The future writer was born on January 12, 1876, at 615 Third Street, San Francisco, California. Jack London was raised in a family of his mother Flora, who was a spiritualist, and his stepfather John London, who loved him a lot. John London felt sorry for Jack, because he was a partially disabled Civil War veteran and Jack had to do all work. It is believed that Jack was the illegitimate son of Williams Chaney, an itinerant astrologer and journalist. London’s parents’ may be described as rather homely American family. His mother always said that their family was American through and through, and had been for many Generations. Jack London’s childhood was not the best one :for his whole life Jack wanted to meet with his real father, his family did not have enough money, although Jack got a good step father and a nanny Jenny who could do anything for him.

Jack London was attracted to books even as a kid. Jack London was not a child who wanted to be at school- he attended school only through the 8th grade - he has got his education at the public libraries, especially the Oakland Public Library under the tutelage of Ina Coolbirth, who later became the first poet laureate of California. At the age thirteen Jack began working from twelve to eighteen hours a day at Hickmott’s Cannery. London borrowed money from his nanny, and bought the run-down long boat "Razzle Dazzle" which he used for oyster thieving. London figured out that the profession of oyster thief did not offer much in the carrier opportunities. At the age seventeen the future writer signed on the sealing schooner Sophia Sutherland, bound for the coast of Japan. London returned back home and started working in a factory producing under conditions even worse that the once he had known before. He tried to escape again, this time as a tramp traveling the freight trains across America. After many different experiences like a hobo, and sailor, Jack London returned to Oakland and attended Oakland High School, where he wrote articles to the high school’s magazine, The Aegis. It was during his cross-country travels that he became acquanted with socialism, which for many years has been his "holy grail".Later he even wrote an essay "How I Became a Socialist".

In 1990, London married his math tutor and friend, Bess Maddern. It has never been love for him. With Bess, he had two daughters - Joan and Bess. His child Joy from the second marriage, only lived for thirty-eight hours. London's second wife became his secretary, Charmian Kittreage. The writer considered her his "Mate Woman" and with whom he found true love. They travelled together a lot - they sailed the Pacific to the South Seas in the Snarkm, which became the basis for his book, The Cruise of the Snark. London and Charmian developed Jack's dream "Beaty Ranch" on 1,400 acres of land in Glen Ellen, California.

Jack London’s life was full of experiences that he has got during his life, what affected to his literature works.

Jack London is one of the greatest authors of all times. Jack London had a very strict rule