1. Background and Life

2.  Born: January 12, 1876  Was born John Chaney in San Francisco, California  Son of Flora Wellman and William Chaney  Father was an attorney, journalist and pioneered in American astrology  Father was never part of his life.  Grew up working constantly  Rode trains, pirated oysters, shoveled coal  Spent much of his time in libraries

3.  Began writing in 1873  Described a voyage in which a typhoon took out his crew  His mother encouraged him to enter a writing contest  Beat out students from Berkeley and Stanford with only an eighth grade education  Trouble finding a publisher  Enrolled in Berkeley but headed north to Canada

4.  Trouble with gathering recognized and little following  1899 begins to publish stories in Overland Monthly  Learned a lot and became a very disciplined writer  Wrote AT LEAST a thousand words a day

5.  At age 27, London found success with his novel, The Call of the Wild  Goes on to publish over 50 books in the last 16 years of his life  White Fang was published in 1906 and considered one of his better novels  Covers the Russo-Japanese War in 1904

6.  Marries Bess Maddern in 1900  Couple has two daughters, Joan and Bess  Not a loving marriage but one to have healthy children  Divorced by 1905.  Remarries Charmian Kittredge  Faces a number of health problems including kidney disease  Dies November 22, 1916