The Death of Jack London

The Death of Jack London

Naturalist/Realist writer Jack London died this year. Famous for his book about a dog The Call of the Wild, London, along with Mark Twain, was one of the most famous writers in America. The renowned journalist H.L Mencken said of Call of the Wild, "No other popular writer of his time did any better writing than you will find in The Call of the Wild.” When The Call of the Wild was published the first printing of 10,000 copies sold out immediately and it is still one the best known stories written by an American author. After his success as a novelist, London bought a ranch in Sonoma County, California where he lived with his wife. He loved his ranch apparently, and was quoted saying, "I write for no other purpose than to add to the beauty that now belongs to me. I write a book for no other reason than to add three or four hundred acres to my magnificent estate." Unfortunately, most of London’s work after 1910 was of the quality of dime-novels, and was mainly written out of the need to finance his ranch. According to reports, London died November 22, 1916, in his bed in a cottage on his ranch. He was in extreme pain and taking , morphine, and it is possible that a morphine overdose, accidental or deliberate, may have contributed to his death.