Jack London stories to read. Little Mistress of the Big House

For great circle Jack London is one of the most beloved authors among Russian readers. Surprisingly, the love for him has not subsided for many years. IN Soviet years Only collections of fairy tales for children by Hans Christian Andersen could compete with his novels in popularity. From 1918 to 1986, more than 77 million copies of various London novels, stories and stories were published in the country. He was loved and continues to be loved by children and adults, schoolchildren, students and pensioners.

Today, interest in the writer’s work has not faded. And if there is some decline, it is associated with a general decline in interest in reading in general. Few writers are published in huge numbers: for many children, computer games have replaced books, and adults simply do not have any free time for literature. Nevertheless, the name of Jack London remains at the top not only of adventure literature, but also of philosophical, life-affirming literature, which could only be born under the hand of a strong and strong-willed person.

List of works by Jack London

Almost all of Jack London's works convey the message that a person must fight to the end, no matter how bad and difficult it may be for him. In his works, he glorified courage, humanity, strength of will and character, the strength of convictions and faith in a just cause. Therefore, you can always find from this writer.

List of works by Jack London (novels and stories in chronological order):

• Daughter of the Snows;
• Travel on the Dazzling;
• Call of the Wild;
• Campton's letters to Wes;
• Sea wolf;
• A game;
• White Fang;
• Before Adam;
• Iron heel;
• Martin Eden;
• Time-cannot-wait;
• Adventure;
• Scarlet Plague;
• Fierce beast;
• Moon Valley;
• Mutiny on Elsinore;
• Interstellar Hulk;
• Little mistress of a big house;
• Jerry the Islander;
• Michael, Jerry's brother;
• Hearts of three.

Video about one of the best books by Jack London “Martin Eden”

He also wrote more than 200 stories. During his lifetime, 16 author's collections were published:

• Son of the Wolf;
• God of his fathers;
• Children of Frost;
• Male fidelity;
• Moonface;
• Love of life;
• Stories from the Fishing Patrol;
• Lost face;
• South Sea Tales;
• When the gods laugh;
• Temple of Pride;
• Smoke Bellew;
• Son of the Sun;
• Born in the night;
• The power of the strong;
• Tasman turtles.

After the writer’s death, three more collections were published:

• Red deity;
• On the Makaloa mat;
• Dutch valor.

The most famous works of London

One of the most famous works writer's novel "Martin Eden". Main character, in fact, this is London itself. His biographers find many similarities between him and the character he invented.

In this work, the author clearly shows that true humanity, love of beauty, and loyalty live not in the hearts of representatives of the upper class, but among ordinary workers, people from the people. A knowledgeable reader will immediately determine that the worldview of the prose writer was seriously influenced by such philosophers and sociologists as Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Nietzsche.

The tragedy is based on the protagonist’s desire to understand the cultural values ​​of the past. Martin Eden, who has not received any education, suddenly begins to study various sciences and reads books avidly. After a while, he himself becomes a writer, but not a single publishing house accepts his manuscripts. When success comes to him, Martin realizes that the desire for fame and fortune is nothing.

If you call best books Jack London, then you can’t ignore the political novel “The Iron Heel”. Both books were created by the author in the period from 1906 to 1909. He finished writing “Martin Eden” in 1909, and “The Iron Heel” in 1907 (in the same period, a collection of articles “Revolution” and a collection of essays "The Road").

From more early works London can be noted for the novel “The Sea Wolf”. The main character, Captain Wolf Larsen, pays with his life for misunderstanding the importance of other people on the team and believing too much in his own exceptionalism.

Jack London's stories for children

Jack London is even better known for his works for children and teenagers than for his political novels and social tragedies. The list of Jack London's books for children is quite impressive. First of all, the novel should be called “The Call of the Wild.”

Although it is classified as children's literature, this writer's work is one of the earliest in his bibliography and is also interesting to mature readers. The plot takes place during the gold rush. A sled dog named Beck is trying to survive in difficult northern conditions. He develops difficult relationships with his relatives, he passes from one owner to another, and at the end of the novel it is described how he is drawn to the wild nature, which wins in himself, and he becomes the leader of a wolf pack.

The novel is not very long and is often published in the same book with the adventure story “White Fang”. As in The Call of the Wild, the main character is not a man, but a beast. This time - a wolf nicknamed White Fang. As a wolf cub, he first became acquainted with the human world. During his life, he encounters human malice and kindness many times. All the twists and turns of fate lead to the fact that he, a wolf by blood, becomes a sled dog, and devotion to man acquires the status of law for him. In this work, the author, in his characteristic manner, through cruelty, glorifies the justice of nature.

Jack London also has stories for children. At the same time, the writer’s work is not usually divided into literature for children and literature for mature readers. Most of his works are written in simple language, they are easy to read, and everyone finds something of their own in them. Children are interested in how the heroes of London cope with difficulties and how they seek adventure. People brought up on his books know how to value kindness and justice. Well, London is close to older readers because he had a very good sense of wild nature and understood the essence of human nature. In some works he foresaw future political cataclysms (the novel “The Iron Heel”), and in others he spoke about the futility and uselessness of an individual’s selfish desires.

Films based on works of London

Films based on Jack London's books were released repeatedly in both the USA and the USSR (and then in Russia), Canada, and Germany. Domestic audiences are best familiar with the film adaptation of the novel “Hearts of Three.” It must be said that the novel itself was written during a period of creative crisis in the biography of Jack London, and is not considered a strong work. Nevertheless, the Russian-Ukrainian film was very much loved by the Russian-speaking public. The main roles in the film were played by Vladimir Shevelkov, Sergei Zhigunov and Alena Khmelnitskaya. It is curious that in the novel the main characters, Henry and Francis, are like two peas in a pod. In the film, these characters are not even remotely similar.

A film based on the novel “Martin Eden” was not made in the Soviet Union, but there is television play, released in 1976. In 1982, the play “Theft” was also released in the format of a television play.

Quite often, directors turned to the novel “The Sea Wolf”. Interestingly, in the first film adaptation in 1913, London personally took part in the filming as an actor, playing a sailor in one episode. In our country in 1990, a 4-part film based on “The Sea Wolf” was shot. Wolf Larsen was played by Lyubomiras Laucevicius. A short series in 2009 was also shot by American director Mike Barker. Film masters Tim Roth and Sebastian Koch played in the adventure drama.

Films based on White Fang are very popular. The first film adaptation of the work was released in the USSR in 1946. Then in 1973 directors from France and Italy turned to the story. The Hollywood version was released in 1991. And three years later, White Fang 2 was filmed in Hollywood; the film had practically no connection with original work London.

Film based on the book by Jack London

There are other films based on the stories of Jack London. For example, in 1993, the television series “Alaska Kid” was released, a joint production of Russia, Poland and Germany. The series is based on several works by London. The film takes place during the gold rush, the main characters are passionate about the idea of ​​​​searching for gold, for this passion they have to endure various disasters, experience hardships and find themselves in difficult situations, from which they, of course, find a way out.

In total, more than a hundred film adaptations of the writer’s works are known. Films based on the works of Jack London are also interesting to different audiences. They are usually loved by both adults and children.

Which works of Jack London do you like best, and why? Tell us about it in

Real name John Griffith Cheney(John Griffith Chaney). Born January 12, 1876 in San Francisco. The future writer's mother, Flora Wellman, was a music teacher and was interested in spiritualism, claiming that she had a spiritual connection with an Indian leader. She became pregnant by astrologer William Cheney, with whom she lived for some time in San Francisco. Having learned about Flora's pregnancy, William began to insist that she have an abortion, but she categorically refused and, in a fit of despair, tried to shoot herself, but only slightly injured herself.

After the birth of the baby, Flora left him for some time in the care of her former slave Virginia Prentiss, who remained for London important person throughout his life. At the end of the same 1876, Flora married John London, a disabled veteran Civil War to the USA, after which she took the baby back to her place. The boy's name began to be John London (Jack - diminutive form named John). After some time, the family moved to the city of Oakland, neighboring San Francisco, where London eventually graduated from school.

Jack London started out on his own early working life, full of hardships. As a schoolboy, he sold morning and evening newspapers. At the end primary school At the age of fourteen he entered a canning factory as a worker. The work was very hard, and he left the factory. He was an “oyster pirate,” illegally catching oysters in San Francisco Bay (described in “Tales of the Fishing Patrol”). In 1893, he hired himself as a sailor on a fishing schooner, going to catch seals on the shores of Japan and in the Bering Sea. The first voyage gave London many vivid impressions, which later formed the basis for many of its sea ​​stories and novels (“The Sea Wolf”, etc.). Subsequently, he also worked as an ironer in a laundry and as a fireman (described in Martin Eden).

London's first essay, "Typhoon off the Coast of Japan", which served as the beginning of his literary career, for which he received first prize from a San Francisco newspaper, was published on November 12, 1893.

In 1894 he took part in the march of the unemployed on Washington (essay “Hold On!”), after which he spent a month in prison for vagrancy (“Straitjacket”). In 1895 he joined the Socialist Workers Party of the USA, from 1900 (some sources indicate 1901) - a member of the Socialist Party of the USA, from which he left in 1914 (some sources indicate 1916); The statement cited the loss of faith in its “fighting spirit” as the reason for the break with the party.

Having prepared independently and successfully passed the entrance exams, Jack London entered the University of California, but after the 3rd semester, due to lack of funds for his studies, he was forced to leave. In the spring of 1897, Jack London succumbed to the Gold Rush and left for Alaska. He returned to San Francisco in 1898, having experienced all the delights of the northern winter. Instead of gold, fate gifted Jack London with meetings with the future heroes of his works.

He began to study literature more seriously at the age of 23, after returning from Alaska: his first northern stories were published in 1899, and already in 1900 his first book was published - a collection of stories “Son of the Wolf”. This was followed by the following collections of stories: “The God of His Fathers” (Chicago, 1901), “Children of the Frost” (New York, 1902), “Faith in Man” (New York, 1904), “The Face of the Moon” (New York) , 1906), “The Lost Face” (New York, 1910), as well as the novels “Daughter of the Snows” (1902), “The Sea Wolf” (1904), “Martin Eden” (1909), which created the widest popularity for the writer. The writer worked very hard, 15-17 hours a day. And he managed to write about 40 magnificent books during his entire not very long career. writing career.

In 1902, London visited England, actually London, which gave him material for writing the book People of the Abyss, which, to the surprise of many, was successful in the USA, unlike England. Upon returning to America, he reads in different cities lectures, predominantly of a socialist nature, and organizes departments of the “General Student Society”. In 1904-05 London works as a war correspondent for Russo-Japanese War. In 1907 the writer undertakes trip around the world. By this time, thanks to high fees, London becomes a wealthy man.

Jack London was very popular in the USSR and in Russia, not least due to his sympathies for the ideas of socialism, membership in the Socialist Workers' Party, and also as a writer who praised the inflexibility of the spirit and life values intangible nature (friendship, honesty, hard work, justice), which was promoted in the socialist state and was natural for the mentality of the Russian people, which was formed within the Russian community. The attention of Soviet readers was not focused on the fact that he was the highest paid writer in America. His fee reached up to 50 thousand dollars per book, which was a fantastic amount. However, the writer himself never gave anyone any reason to accuse himself of writing for money. He missed them - it would be more accurate to put it that way. And in the novel Martin Eden, the most autobiographical of all his works, Jack London showed the death of the soul young writer and his beloved under the influence of the thirst for money. The thirst for life was the idea of ​​his works, but not the thirst for gold.

IN last years London was worried creative crisis, and therefore began to abuse alcohol (later quit). Because of the crisis, the writer was even forced to buy a plot for a new novel. Such a plot was sold to London by the aspiring American writer Sinclair Lewis. London managed to give the future novel a title - “The Murder Bureau” - but he managed to write very little, since he soon died.

London died on November 22, 1916 in Glen Ellen, California. In recent years he suffered from kidney disease (uremia) and died from poisoning from morphine prescribed to him.

The most famous version among the public is suicide, but doctors note that London did not have sufficient knowledge to calculate the lethal dose of morphine, nor serious grounds for suicide (he did not leave suicide note and chose a completely “unmanly” method). Deliberate self-poisoning began to spread in later times - just remember the fate of Sigmund Freud. But the fact that the very reasoning about the sources of suicide existed in his head is unambiguous. Thus, his beloved hero Martin Eden quite meaningfully commits suicide, being in a depressed state due to unfulfilled expectations about the principles of the existence of “higher” American society and psychological fatigue from work. Related topic the story “Semper Idem” is also dedicated; London also mentions his thoughts about suicide in the biographical story “John Barleycorn.”

Fantastic in creativity.

Despite the fact that Jack London’s main fame came from his “northern stories,” in his work he repeatedly addressed the themes and problems of SF. Already in the first published story, “A Thousand Deaths,” a scientist uses his own son as a test subject, conducting experiments on rejuvenation; dedicated to the same topic humorous story"The Rejuvenation of Major Rathbone" (1899). In “The Shadow and the Flash,” the idea of ​​an invisible man is realized using scientific methods, and in the story “The Enemy of the Whole World” (1908) - a superweapon that gives power over the world. The protagonist of the story "The Red Deity" (1918) discovers a tribe lost in the jungle that worships a mysterious sphere from outer space. Racist ideas of "burden" white man”, at one time shared by London, found expression in the story “An Unusual Invasion” (1910), in which the “white” nations carry out genocide against the Chinese (the latter are simply poisoned like insects from the air) in order to establish a utopia on Earth.

Some famous works London is devoted to the problems of evolution. In Before Adam (1906), which undoubtedly inspired William Golding's The Descendants, genetic memory allows consciousness modern man travel to the prehistoric past, where "progress" (the Fire People) gradually displaces historical scene innocent children of Nature. The stories “The Power of the Strong” (1911) and “When the World Was Young” (1910) are devoted to the same theme. And in the story “A Splinter of the Tertiary Epoch” we are talking about another relic - a mammoth that has survived to this day.

The soul of the hero of the novel “Interstellar Wanderer” (1915), a prisoner in an American prison, without any scientific justification is capable of “spiritually” traveling through time, incarnating in previous reincarnations of the hero, from a Roman legionnaire to an American pioneer settler. The world after the catastrophe, which has returned to primitive barbarism, is impressively depicted in the story “The Scarlet Plague” (1912).

London’s political views determined the appearance of his utopian works, of which the most famous, the novel “The Iron Heel” (1907), belongs to the peaks of the writer’s creativity and literary utopia (or dystopia) of the beginning of the century. Back in the 27th century, historians are studying documents dating back to the end of the 20th century, in which the United States groans under the rule of a fascist oligarchy; The struggle of the oppressed proletariat against capital is just heating up, but from the prologue it is clear that over time it will lead to success. London has written a number of stories on the same theme: “A Curious Passage” (1907), again introducing the sinister figure of the oligarch ruler; "Goliath" (1908), the hero of which invents new source energy and with its help establishes a worldwide “proletarian dictatorship”; in the treatise story “Debs's Dream” (1909), the socialist revolution wins throughout the world as a result of a general strike.

Collections have been repeatedly published abroad fantastic works Jack London, the composition of which varied markedly, depending on the task of the compiler. A similar collection was published in Russian in 1993, when the compiler Vil Bykov tried to collect all the translated science fiction under one cover. short prose Jack London.

(V. Gakov, with changes)

Jack London ) - famous American writer. Born January 12, 1876 in San Francisco. At birth he was given the name Griffith Chaney. He worked in the genre of literature, the author of several dozen world-famous works.

His birth, or rather the story of his birth, is not a very bright story. His mother Flora Wellman was a music teacher and was actively involved in spiritualism, i.e. calling spirits. She claimed that she was in constant communication with the Indian leader, but it was very difficult to prove this. She lived with William Cheney, who was an astrologer. Having learned about her pregnancy, the father of the future writer forced her to have an abortion, but she refused and tried to commit suicide, but as a result she only slightly injured herself by shooting from a pistol.

After Jack's birth, London was placed in the care of Virginia Prentiss, a former slave. For Jack, she became a second mother. In 1876, his mother married John London and took her son with her. Since then they began to call him Jack London.

Not yet becoming a writer, Jack London eked out a half-starved existence. He sold newspapers and books, worked in a canning factory, caught oysters illegally, was an ironer, fireman and sailor. It was working as a sailor that became one of the greatest impressions in his life. Later he wrote many sea works about this, in particular The Sea Wolf.

The beginning of his literary career dates back to 1893. Then his first essay was published, called Typhoon off the coast of Japan. For this work he received his first prize. Closely fiction he began to study only in 1899, when, after returning from Alaska, he wrote a whole series of stories about the northern lands. These books, stories and novels brought him worldwide fame. Some of the most famous are White Fang, Hearts of Three, Call of the Ancestors and so on. In total, he wrote about 40 books during his life. In addition to his adventure works, D. London also wrote several works: Goliath, Scarlet Plague, When the World Was Young and some others.

In the last years of his life, he began to abuse alcohol heavily, as he was experiencing a severe creative crisis. He even had to buy a plot for a new novel. He bought it for $78,000 from another writer, Lewis Sinclair. The novel was called “The Murder Bureau,” but Jack London was never destined to write it.

November 22, 1916 at the age of 40, in the town of Glen Ellen, famous writer, who gave the world many amazing books that are still studied in schools in many countries, died of morphine poisoning. He was not a drug addict at all - morphine was prescribed to him for the kidney disease uremia. His grave is located in Jack London State Park, Glen Ellen.

Buy books by Jack London in the online store with delivery.

Books by Jack London:

White Fang

Daughter of the Snows

Moon Valley

Little mistress of a big house

Smoke Bellew

Sea Wolf

Call of the Wild

Scarlet Plague

In Eddo Bay

In a distant land

Great mystery

Great magician

Enemy of the whole world

John - barley grain

Yellow scarf

Pearls of Parley

For those who are on the way

Law of life

Green serpent

Golden Canyon

Sperm whale tooth

Moon Valley

Interstellar Hulk

Voyage on the Snark

Northern Odyssey

Hearts of Three

Scary Solomon Islands

Son of the Sun

The path of false suns

A thousand deaths

Temple of Pride

Do you want to feel as comfortable as possible while shaving? Only for you Agidel electric razor in the ElektroBritva online store. Hurry up to get your dream!

Jack London (real name John Griffith Cheney) is a famous American writer. public figure, author of adventure stories and novels. Jack London's books were very popular in the USSR, the writer took second place after G.Kh. Andersen in terms of the number of published works.

Anyone who has read at least one of the author’s novels and seen his portrait can safely call London a middle-aged man with a strong-willed chin and kind eyes. This is the image that can be found on many book endpapers. However, the writer’s life was not at all joyful, as it might seem at first glance.

The works of Jack London

Jack London was very passionate about creating new stories and characters and devoted sixteen hours to work every day. Thanks to such perseverance, he managed to complete about forty works.

The writer's novels and stories win the hearts of readers with their unique artistic method, the author masterfully displays all the feelings and emotions caught by surprise by the life failures of the characters. Every hero is endowed with rich inner world, regardless of what class it belongs to.

There are no fantastic elements in London's works, but the novelism of the characters and the fascination of the events that take place draws in the reader and after reading the next chapter it is no longer possible to put it down.

Best books by Jack London online:

Brief biography of Jack London

John Griffith Cheney was born in San Francisco in 1876. New surname little John received from his stepfather John London, his mother's second husband. The family was constantly in poverty, which forced the young writer to start work early. While studying at school, he simultaneously began to earn extra money by selling newspapers.

After graduating from school, he began working at a canning factory. Then London got a job as a sailor on a fishing schooner, and in 1893 he set off on the first voyage in his life. The journey instilled courage, bravery and left many impressions, which were later reflected in his books.

I wonder what long time the writer suffered from alcoholism and described it in the book “John Barleycorn.” But strong strength will allowed Jack to get rid of addiction.

The essay “Typhoon off the Coast of Japan” marked the beginning of his literary career, for which London also received first prize from one of the newspapers. Then the works began to appear one after another. In total, Jack London published 16 collections during his life.

The writer died in 1916 in California, in the small town of Glen Ellen. In recent years, he was seriously ill, exhausted from kidney problems, and during the next attack of pain he made a mistake with the dose of sleeping pills.

(estimates: 3 , average: 3,67 out of 5)

Jack London, whose real name is John Griffith Cheney, was born in the middle of winter - January 12, 1876 in the States. The parents of the future writer cannot be called ordinary: John’s mother was always stubborn, self-willed, and besides, she was involved in spiritualism; his father was an astrologer and loved adventure, which was inherited by Jack London.

Little John received the surname “London” when he was not even a year old. During this time, his mother married a Civil War veteran, John London. Soon my stepfather's surname became creative pseudonym writer. By the way, Jack is just a shortened version of the name John.

Jack was accustomed to hard work since childhood: as a schoolboy, he sold newspapers. To earn money, he got up before dawn. Both before and after classes the boy returned to work. Oddly enough, this did not stop him from reading: as a child, Jack liked adventure literature most of all.

Jack London loved the sea no less than books, so at the age of thirteen he bought a small boat with his own money. On it he took boat trips, fished and read.

When Jack turned fifteen, he had to get a job in a canning factory, since the family had almost no money left to live on. The conditions at the factory were terrible, the wages were pitiful, and people were injured every day. Energetic Jack could not stand the monotony mechanical work, so I started looking for alternative ways to make money. So he began to engage in illegal oyster fishing and, wild life, spent all his earnings on drinking bouts. Having come to his senses in time, Jack hired a ship for legal work - catching fur seals.

In general, in his youth, the future writer managed to try almost all the “delights” of life: after working on a ship for six months, he joined the march of the unemployed, and as a result lived for the same amount of time with vagabonds. During this period, Jack decides to get an education and start a writing career. Now he began his intellectual work: he graduated high school and even passed the entrance exam to the University of California, Berkeley. But since young London did not have enough money, he had to give up his studies.

Jack began writing his first stories and novels at the age of 22. All his works were constantly returned from the editorial offices of newspapers and magazines, which soon served as the basis for writing a novel. After six months of persistent unsuccessful attempts, his story was finally published.

The dizzying success became a real gift of fate for Jack London: now he earned incomparably more than ever and could afford everything he wanted. Yes, the writer, who grew up in poverty, highly valued his wealth.

Jack London lived only forty years, but managed to write more than two hundred stories, novellas and novels. His works became known throughout the world, and “White Fang” and “Hearts of Three” were included in school curriculum. But the main thing is not even this, but the fact that this man, thanks to his perseverance, courage and hard work, managed to make his dream come true.

Jack London, bibliography

All books by Jack London:

Novels

• 1902 - “Daughter of the Snows”
• 1903 - ""
• 1903 - “Letters from Campton to Wes”
• 1904 — " "
• 1906 - ""
• 1908 - ""
• 1909 - ""
• 1910 — “Time-can’t-wait”
• 1911 - “Adventure”
• 1912 — “The Scarlet Plague”
• 1913 - ""
• 1914 - "Mutiny on Elsinore"
• 1915 — "