London is probably best known for his book The Call of the Wild and possibly White Fang. London had a short but very prolific career. He was first published at 21 and had drunk himself to death by the time he was 40. The actual cause of his death was a morphine overdose. It remains unknown whether it was accidental or a suicide. He detailed his alcoholism in John Barleycorn or Alcoholic Memoirs. In some ways he had great insight into his alcoholism and at the same time practice great denial. He also wrote a very good book on the slums of London, The People of the Abyss.
I had not heard of The Sea Wolf which only points out my literary ignorance. After reading the book I wondered if they had ever made a movie of it. They have a few times. There is the 1941 version starring Edward G. Robinson. There is a 1993 made for TV movie starring Charles Bronson and Christopher Reeves. There is also a TV mini-series from 2009.
As I was researching the movies I came across a review of the book that stated more than a few critics have called it possibly The Great American Novel. I am not sure I would go quite that far, but I would definitely put it high company. Continue reading “The Sea Wolf by Jack London”