Jack London was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist whose fiction often drew on his experiences of manual work, travel and life at sea. Born in San Francisco in 1876, he left school early and worked in several occupations before joining the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. Although he found little gold, the journey provided material for stories set in the Canadian north.

London achieved international success with The Call of the Wild in 1903, followed by works including The Sea-Wolf, White Fang and the partly autobiographical novel Martin Eden. His writing combined adventure narratives with themes of survival, social class and industrial society. London was also an outspoken socialist and wrote essays and journalism on labour and political issues. A highly productive author, he published extensively before his death in California in 1916 at the age of 40.