Jack London, His Circle of Women, and His Times
Charmian Kittredge London at a Solomon Islands market. A good visual example of Western coloniallism.
Before moving to California, I had never read Jack London. Still in snobby young adulthood, I considered him a "dog story writer." Little did I know he and his times would consume my life. A neighbor stopped by and said, "I've just returned from Jack London State Historic Park. You should go there. His wife was really interesting. I think you should write a book about her." I had recently read Nancy Milford's book on Zelda Fitzgerald, and conceived a similar story arc, that Charmian would suffer in the shadow of a famous man.
The literary executor then, Irving Shepard, granted me permission to write the book and see all the archives. He introduced me to Earle Labor, a leading literary scholar who helped me when we worked together at the Huntington Library. There I spent several summers reading hundreds of Charmian's letters, thirty years of her diaries, and a chunk of Jack's enormous correspondence.
My initial theory proved incorrect. Charmian was no victimized Zelda, but very much her own independent woman. I continue to learn about her, and Jack of course. After publishing several scholarly articles, I wrote American Dreamers. Twenty years later, spurred on by Helen Abbott, the wife of Jack's grandson Park Abbott, I composed a book that took in the large circle of women who were related to or influenced his life in significant ways. This became Jack London's Women.
Roy Tennant and I realized that readers, teachers, and students needed a reliable and accurate sour of information on Jack London. That led to our creating https://london.sonoma.edu
The literary executor then, Irving Shepard, granted me permission to write the book and see all the archives. He introduced me to Earle Labor, a leading literary scholar who helped me when we worked together at the Huntington Library. There I spent several summers reading hundreds of Charmian's letters, thirty years of her diaries, and a chunk of Jack's enormous correspondence.
My initial theory proved incorrect. Charmian was no victimized Zelda, but very much her own independent woman. I continue to learn about her, and Jack of course. After publishing several scholarly articles, I wrote American Dreamers. Twenty years later, spurred on by Helen Abbott, the wife of Jack's grandson Park Abbott, I composed a book that took in the large circle of women who were related to or influenced his life in significant ways. This became Jack London's Women.
Roy Tennant and I realized that readers, teachers, and students needed a reliable and accurate sour of information on Jack London. That led to our creating https://london.sonoma.edu