Select Works of Jack London (6 vols.)

by Jack London

Publishers:

The Review of Reviews Company; The Regent Press; Grosset & Dunlap

and

3 more

, 1904–1915

Overview

This six-volume collection offers a sampling of some of nineteenth-century American writer Jack London’s finest works. Best known for his rugged, wind-swept adventure stories, such as White Fang and The Call of the Wild, London was also a passionate social advocate, sailor, amateur farmer, and colorful public personality. True to his personal credo: “I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. . . . The proper function of a man is to live, not to exist,” London wrote dynamic works in which gritty realism mingles with philosophical questioning. Explore a variety of London’s works from the action-packed thrills of The Sea Wolf to the dystopian musings of The Iron Heel.

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Key Features

• Offers six of Jack London’s best novels
• Includes the best-selling The Call of the Wild and White Fang
• Showcases the range of London’s literary prowess within the novel form

Product Details

• Title: Select Works of Jack London
• Author: Jack London
• Volumes: 6
• Pages: 1,891

Call of the Wild

• Author: Jack London
• Publisher: The Review of Reviews Company
• Publication Date: 1903
• Pages: 198

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

In this classic novel, London’s realist and naturalist inclinations take center stage, shaping this rugged adventure story. Set in the Klondike, the novel’s protagonist is a St. Bernard-Collie mix named Buck. Kidnapped from his California home, Buck is forced to harden into a rough sled dog in order to survive in the brutal realities of the wilderness in which he finds himself. London explores timeless themes such as the relationship between civilization and wilderness, and the struggle to survive.

White Fang

• Author: Jack London
• Publisher: The Regent Press
• Publication Date: 1914
• Pages: 327

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

White Fang first appeared serially in Outing in 1906, achieving instant worldwide success. White Fang serves as a companion to The Call of the Wild. Instead of a domesticated dog returning to the wild, White Fang follows a wild wolfdog’s transition to domesticity during the Kondike Gold Rush in Alaska. London uses his canine protagonist to explore the violence of wildlife and critique the violence of human beings. It is considered to be an allegorical autobiography of London’s transition from trouble teenager to the middle-class.

The Sea Wolf

• Author: Jack London
• Publisher: The Review of Reviews Company
• Publication Date: 1916
• Pages: 321

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Jack London’s cerebral novel The Sea-Wolf follows the troubles of a literary critic who survives a shipwreck and is rescued by Wolf Larsen, the highly intelligent, but amoral captain of a seal-hunting vessel. Through his antagonist, London sought to debunk the super-man theory of Nietzche. The Sea-Wolf was released to strong commercial success on the strength of his previous work, The Call of the Wild and was well-received by critics.

The Iron Heel

• Author: Jack London
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
• Publication Date: 1917
• Pages: 354

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

In The Iron Heel, Jack London presented the world with what is argued to be the first modern dystopian novel, as well as the novel most clearly demonstrating his socialist views. This novel had a strong influence on future dystopian fiction, especially George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. In The Iron Heel, London uses a layered futuristic narrative, where he writes through a female main character, Avis Everhard, who speaks in the first person—a relatively rare narrative strategy at the time. First published in 1908, the novel is made up of Everhard’s journals, which were written a few years in the (then) future, a time in which a tyrannical American oligarchy has taken control. London also utilizes a secondary narrative layered on top, where the so-called “Everhard Manuscripts” are discovered and commented on by a scholar even further in the future, around 2600 AD.

Martin Eden

• Author: Jack London
• Publisher: Macmillan and Co.
• Publication Date: 1913
• Pages: 411

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

The tragic Martin Eden was first serialized in the Pacific Monthly in 1908/1909. It follows an working class sailor who aspires to be a writer and earn a place in the upper-classes, giving him the right to be with his love, Ruth. In Martin Eden, London provides strong critique of the capitalistic individualism which drives his protagonist to despair in an empty success.

Lost Face

• Author: Jack London
• Publisher: Mills & Boon, Limited
• Publication Date: 1915
• Pages: 280

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Lost Face contains seven of London’s short stories:

• Lost Face
• Trust
• To Build a Fire
• That Spot
• Flush of Gold
• The Passing of Marcus O’Brien
• The Wit of Porportuk

About Jack London

Jack London (1876–1916) was an American writer and social activist. Best-known for novels like The Call of the Wild and White Fang, London was one of the first fiction writers to become widely known and wealthy solely from his work in fiction. Experimenting in numerous written forms, such as poetry, short stories, novels, essays, plays, and memoirs, London developed a wide range of talents. An important figure in realist and naturalist literature, London was also an outspoken social and political activist, advocating for unionization, socialism, and worker’s rights. He explored these issues in many of his works, such as his dystopian novel, The Iron Heel.