The Call of the Wild

216 Pages·2009·5.674 MB·English

by  Jack London, Nicholas Ruddick

The Call of the Wild_Layout 1 25/08/09 2:01 PM Page 1
b r o a d v i e w p r e s s
L
o
n The Call of the Wild
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n Jack London

broadview editions (e
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“This is the best scholarly edition of The Call of the Wild currently u edited by
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available, with a superb, wide-ranging introduction by Nicholas d Nicholas Ruddick
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Ruddick that is a model of judicious lucidity. The edition is also k
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greatly enhanced by a series of fascinating primary documents
situating the novella in an array of turn-of-the-twentieth-century
cultural contexts, including the Klondike Gold Rush, Darwin on
dogs and men, theories of atavism and instinct, and controversies
surrounding charges of plagiarism against Jack London. T
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Highly recommended.”
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Jonathan Auerbach, University of Maryland
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A best-seller from its first publication in 1903, The Call of the Wildtells l

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the story of Buck, a big mongrel dog who is shipped from his comfortable
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life in California to Alaska, where he must adapt to the harsh life of a sled t
h
dog during the Klondike Gold Rush. The narrative recounts Buck’s brutal
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obedience training, his struggle to meet the demands of human masters, and
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his rise to the position of lead sled dog as a result of his superior physical
i
and mental qualities. Finally, Buck is free to respond to the “call” of the l
d
wilderness. Over a hundred years after its publication, Jack London’s
The Call “dog story” retains the enduring appeal of a classic.
of the Wild This Broadview Edition includes a critical introduction that explores
London’s life and legacy and the complex scientific and psychological ideas
Jack London
drawn upon by London in writing the story. The appendices include material
on the Klondike, Darwin’s writings on dogs, other contemporary writings on
instinct and atavism, and maps of the regions in which the story takes place.
edited by
Nicholas Ruddick
Nicholas Ruddick is Professor of English at the
University of Regina. He is the editor of the
Broadview Editions of H.G. Wells’s The Time
Machineand Grant Allen’s The Woman Who Did.
Cover: “RNWMP Patrol Dawson to Herschel
b
Island,” 1908. Photograph by Jerry Doody. ro
a
d
www.broadviewpress.com v
i
e
www.broadviewpress.com w
The Call of the Wild_Layout 1 25/08/09 2:01 PM Page 1
b r o a d v i e w p r e s s
L
o
n The Call of the Wild
d
o
n Jack London

broadview editions (e
d
.
R
“This is the best scholarly edition of The Call of the Wild currently u edited by
d
available, with a superb, wide-ranging introduction by Nicholas d Nicholas Ruddick
i
c
Ruddick that is a model of judicious lucidity. The edition is also k
)
greatly enhanced by a series of fascinating primary documents
situating the novella in an array of turn-of-the-twentieth-century
cultural contexts, including the Klondike Gold Rush, Darwin on
dogs and men, theories of atavism and instinct, and controversies
surrounding charges of plagiarism against Jack London. T
h
Highly recommended.”
e
Jonathan Auerbach, University of Maryland
C
a
l
A best-seller from its first publication in 1903, The Call of the Wildtells l

o
the story of Buck, a big mongrel dog who is shipped from his comfortable
f
life in California to Alaska, where he must adapt to the harsh life of a sled t
h
dog during the Klondike Gold Rush. The narrative recounts Buck’s brutal
e
obedience training, his struggle to meet the demands of human masters, and
W
his rise to the position of lead sled dog as a result of his superior physical
i
and mental qualities. Finally, Buck is free to respond to the “call” of the l
d
wilderness. Over a hundred years after its publication, Jack London’s
The Call “dog story” retains the enduring appeal of a classic.
of the Wild This Broadview Edition includes a critical introduction that explores
London’s life and legacy and the complex scientific and psychological ideas
Jack London
drawn upon by London in writing the story. The appendices include material
on the Klondike, Darwin’s writings on dogs, other contemporary writings on
instinct and atavism, and maps of the regions in which the story takes place.
edited by
Nicholas Ruddick
Nicholas Ruddick is Professor of English at the
University of Regina. He is the editor of the
Broadview Editions of H.G. Wells’s The Time
Machineand Grant Allen’s The Woman Who Did.
Cover: “RNWMP Patrol Dawson to Herschel
b
Island,” 1908. Photograph by Jerry Doody. ro
a
d
www.broadviewpress.com v
i
e
www.broadviewpress.com w
a-front.qxd 21/08/2009 7:44 AM Page 1
This electronic material is under
copyright protection and is
provided to a single recipient
for review purposes only.
THE CALL OF THE WILD
A First Modern English Edition of
Les Évangiles des Quenouilles
broadview editions
series editor: L.W. Conolly
THEDISTAFFGOSPELS 1
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Figure 1:Jack London,courtesy of The Bancroft Library,University
of California,Berkeley
2 THEDISTAFFGOSPELS
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THE CALL OF THE WILD
Jack London
Les Évangiles des Quenouilles
translated by Thomas K.Abbott
with revisions by Lara Denis
edited by Nicholas Ruddick
broadview editions
THEDISTAFFGOSPELS 3
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© 2010 Nicholas Ruddick
All rights reserved.The use of any part of this publication reproduced,transmitted in
any form or by any means,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,or other-
wise,or stored in a retrieval system,without prior written consent of the publisher—
or in the case of photocopying,a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright
Licensing Agency),One Yonge Street,Suite 1900,Toronto,Ontario M5E 1E5—is an
infringement of the copyright law.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
London,Jack,1876-1916
The call of the wild / Jack London ;edited by Nicholas Ruddick.
(Broadview editions)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-55111-844-4
1. Dogs—Fiction. I.Ruddick,Nicholas II. Title.
III. Series:Broadview editions
PS3523.O46C3 2009 813′.52 C2009-904609-1
Broadview Editions
The Broadview Editions series represents the ever-changing canon of literature in
English by bringing together texts long regarded as classics with valuable lesser-
known works.
Advisory editor for this volume:Juliet Sutcliffe
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Contents
Acknowledgements (cid:127) 9
References and Abbreviations (cid:127) 11
Illustrations (cid:127) 13
Introduction (cid:127) 15
Jack London:A Brief Chronology (cid:127) 45
A Note on the Text (cid:127) 49
The Call of the Wild (cid:127) 51
Appendix A:The Klondike in Reality and Myth (cid:127) 133
1. From Tappan Adney,The Klondike Stampede(1900) (cid:127) 133
2. From A.C.Harris,Alaska and the Klondike Gold
Fields(1897) (cid:127) 134
Appendix B:The Animal Story (cid:127) 137
From Charles G.D.Roberts,The Kindred of the Wild:
A Book of Animal Life(1902) (cid:127) 137
Appendix C:Darwin on Dogs and Men (cid:127) 143
1. From Charles Darwin,The Variation of Animals and
Plants under Domestication(1868) (cid:127) 143
2. From Charles Darwin,The Descent of Man,and
Selection in Relation to Sex(1871) (cid:127) 145
3. From Charles Darwin,The Expression of the Emotions
in Man and Animals(1872) (cid:127) 145
Appendix D:Outside and Inside Dogs in the Northland (cid:127) 149
1. From Edward Jesse,Anecdotes of Dogs(1858) (cid:127) 149
2. From Tappan Adney,The Klondike Stampede(1900) (cid:127) 150
3. From Jack London,“Husky—The Wolf-Dog of
the North”(1900) (cid:127) 153
Appendix E:Instinct,Memory,Recapitulation,and
Atavism (cid:127) 155
1. From Herbert Spencer,The Principles of Psychology
(1855,1890) (cid:127) 155
2. From Ernst Haeckel,The History of Creation(1868,
1880) (cid:127) 156
3. From Samuel Butler,Life and Habit(1878) (cid:127) 157
4. From Charles Darwin,The Variation of Animals
and Plants under Domestication(1868) (cid:127) 158
5. John Myers O’Hara,“Atavism”(1902) (cid:127) 159
THEROMANCEOFASHOP 5
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Appendix F:London’s First Dog Story (cid:127) 161
Jack London,“Bâtard”(1902,1904) (cid:127) 161
Appendix G:Extracts from London’s Correspondence
(1902–1916) (cid:127) 175
1. From Letter to Cloudesley Johns (6 January 1902) (cid:127) 175
2. From Letter to Anna Strunsky (11 February 1902) (cid:127) 175
3. From Letter to George P.Brett (28 April 1902) (cid:127) 175
4. From Letter to George P.Brett (21 November 1902) (cid:127) 176
5. From Letter to Anna Strunsky (20 December 1902) (cid:127) 176
6. From Letter to Anna Strunsky (7 January 1903) (cid:127) 176
7. From Letter to George P.Brett (12 February 1903) (cid:127) 176
8. From Letter to George P.Brett (25 February 1903) (cid:127) 177
9. From Letter to George P.Brett (10 March 1903) (cid:127) 177
10. From Letter to Anna Strunsky (13 March 1903) (cid:127) 178
11. From Letter to George P.Brett (25 March 1903) (cid:127) 178
12. From Letter to George P.Brett (2 April 1903) (cid:127) 179
13. From Letter to George P.Brett (10 April 1903) (cid:127) 179
14. From Letter to George P.Brett (24 July 1903) (cid:127) 180
15. From Letter to George P.Brett (10 August 1903) (cid:127) 180
16. From Letter to George P.Brett (15 August 1903) (cid:127) 180
17. From Letter to Merle Maddern (28 August 1903) (cid:127) 181
18. From Letter to Marshall Bond (17 December 1903) (cid:127) 181
19. From Letter to George P.Brett (5 December 1904) (cid:127) 181
20. From Letter to John M.O’Hara (25 July 1907) (cid:127) 182
21. From Letter to Karl E.Harriman (12 December
1910) (cid:127) 182
22. From Letter to Edgar G.Sisson (30 January 1915) (cid:127) 183
23. From Letter to Frank A.Garbutt (5 February 1915) (cid:127) 183
24. From Letter to H.E.Kelsey (3 April 1915) (cid:127) 183
25. From Letter to Loen Weilskov (16 October 1916) (cid:127) 184
Appendix H:Reviews of The Call of the Wild (cid:127) 185
1. From New York Times Saturday Review of Books
and Art(25 July 1903) (cid:127) 185
2. From Outlook(25 July 1903) (cid:127) 185
3. From George Hamlin Fitch,San Francisco
Chronicle(2 August 1903) (cid:127) 186
4. From Argonaut(3 August 1903) (cid:127) 187
5. From Mary Calkins Brooke,[San Francisco]
Bulletin (23 August 1903) (cid:127) 188
6. From Athenaeum(29 August 1903) (cid:127) 188
7. From Comrade(September 1903) (cid:127) 189
8. From Florence Jackson,Overland Monthly
(September 1903) (cid:127) 189
6 CONTENTS
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9. From J.Stewart Doubleday,Reader(September
1903) (cid:127) 190
10. From Literary Digest(3 October 1903) (cid:127) 191
11. From Nation(8 October 1903) (cid:127) 191
12. From H.W.Boynton,Atlantic Monthly(November
1903) (cid:127) 192
Appendix I:The Plagiarism Issue (cid:127) 193
1. From Egerton R.Young,My Dogs in the Northland
(1902) (cid:127) 193
2. From Jack London,The Call of the Wild(1903) (cid:127) 194
3. From L.A.M.Bosworth and Jack London,“Is Jack
London a Plagiarist?”(14 February 1907) (cid:127) 194
4. From “Against Jack London,”New York Times
Saturday Review of Books (23 February 1907) (cid:127) 196
5. From Egerton R.Young,letter in New York Times,
Saturday Review of Books (9 March 1907) (cid:127) 196
6. From Jack London,letter to Egerton R.Young
(18 March 1907) (cid:127) 196
Appendix J:Buck’s Travels (cid:127) 199
Map 1. To the Northland (cid:127) 199
Map 2. The Klondike Trail (cid:127) 200
Map 3. Salt Water (cid:127) 201
Select Bibliography (cid:127) 205
THECALLOFTHEWILD 7
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8 PREFACE