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Bio - Jack London

Jack London, born John Griffith Chaney on January 12, 1876, was an American author renowned for his novel The Call of the Wild and his contributions to early Dystopian Fiction, notably The Iron Heel. He experienced a diverse life as a sailor and hobo, and despite facing accusations of plagiarism, he became financially successful, producing over 500 works. London's most famous short story is To Build a Fire, and he is remembered for his insightful quotes about life and storytelling.

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25 views3 pages

Bio - Jack London

Jack London, born John Griffith Chaney on January 12, 1876, was an American author renowned for his novel The Call of the Wild and his contributions to early Dystopian Fiction, notably The Iron Heel. He experienced a diverse life as a sailor and hobo, and despite facing accusations of plagiarism, he became financially successful, producing over 500 works. London's most famous short story is To Build a Fire, and he is remembered for his insightful quotes about life and storytelling.

Uploaded by

Tanishta Reuben
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Jack London

(Jan 12, 1876 - Nov 22, 1916)


John Griffith Chaney

Pen Name : Jack London

Born : Jan 12, 1876

Died : Nov 22, 1916

was an American author best known for writing The Call of the Wild. Jack
London was his pen name, likely born in San Francisco, California as John
Griffith Chaney. Like the restive characters in his works, London sought a
variety of experiences as a young man including sailor, hobo and an agitator for
jobs during the depression. He also wrote some of the earliest Dystopian
Fiction, including The Iron Heel which portrays America under tyrannical rule,
written ten years before the Bolsheviks took over Russia.

During his vagrant period, he spent thirty days in the Erie County jail in New
York:

"Man-handling was merely one of the very minor unprintable horrors of the Erie
County Pen. I say 'unprintable'; and in justice I must also say 'unthinkable'.
They were unthinkable to me until I saw them, and I was no spring chicken in
the ways of the world and the awful abysses of human degradation. It would
take a deep plummet to reach bottom in the Erie County Pen, and I do but skim
lightly and facetiously the surface of things as I there saw them."
London became a well-known writer and was one of the first to
achieve true financial success from his writings. His success brought
controversy as well. He was prodigious writer producing over 500
works and was often accused of plagiarism. The manner in which he
chose to work contributed to those accusations; he bought plots for
stories and novels from a young Sinclair Lewis and he used incidents
read in newspapers as material for his stories.

London's most famous short story, particularly popular in both


middle- and high school language arts classes, is To Build a Fire. His
best-selling book during his lifetime was his 1910 novel Burning
Daylight.
A couple of favorite Jack London quotes:
"Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes,
playing a poor hand well."
"The most beautiful stories always start with wreckage."
"A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the
dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog."

Enjoy our useful The Call of the Wild Study Guide, and visit our
retrospective of Jack London images on Pinterest.

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