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.
Literary executor 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.
I have donated all my research materials to the Jack London State Historic Park. This will help volunteer docents access rare books, unusual materials, photographs, as well as journals and scholarly studies normally unavailable beyond academic settings. After the State of California faced a budget crisis, the park management was transferred to a nonprofit. The small staff and hundreds of volunteers have modernized and greatly improved the condition of the land and its buildings.
Literary executor 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.
I have donated all my research materials to the Jack London State Historic Park. This will help volunteer docents access rare books, unusual materials, photographs, as well as journals and scholarly studies normally unavailable beyond academic settings. After the State of California faced a budget crisis, the park management was transferred to a nonprofit. The small staff and hundreds of volunteers have modernized and greatly improved the condition of the land and its buildings.