Description
Book SynopsisOffers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer. Jay Williams examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents.
Trade Review“Groundbreaking and comprehensive. . . . Jay Williams approaches London’s writing life in a way that no other biographer or scholar has previously endeavored.”—Iris Dunkle,
Journal of Popular Culture "[
Author Under Sail] is indispensable for Jack London scholars."—Anita Duneer,
Studies in American Naturalism"Thoroughly documented and cogently argued,
Author Under Sail heralds a departure from all scholars who thought they knew about Jack London and promises a wealth of new directions in London scholarship."—S. M. Nuernberg,
CHOICE“A stunning new story of the authorial development that undergirds Jack London’s prolific fiction and nonfiction. This book offers a far richer U.S. socio-literary vein than any mined to date by critics and researchers of London’s life and career. Jay Williams, what’s more, presents a new model of close reading, not a formalist plea for artistic unity but a showcase of literary-critical focal power. For admirers of Jack London, for students of American literature, and for historians of the book,
Author Under Sail is a
must.”—Cecelia Tichi, author of
Exposés and Excess: Muckraking in America, 1900/2000“
Author Under Sail offers a paradigm-shifting approach to Jack London studies. . . . Williams has the gift of explaining complex ideas in straightforward, clear language and is also a storyteller adept at tracing the human connections behind the texts and shaping them into an engrossing tale.
Author Under Sail will become an indispensable source for all serious London scholars.”—Chris Gair, author of
Complicity and Resistance in Jack London’s Novels: From Naturalism to NatureTable of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. Spirit Truth
2. From Absorption to Theatricality and Back Again
3. “I Will Build a New Present”
4. Sons as Authors
5. Fathers as Publishers
6. The Daughter as Author
7. Lovers as Authors
8. At Sea with the Family
9. Yellow News, Yellow Stories
10. The Return Home
Notes
Bibliography
Index
