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Stories of Ships and the Sea
Stories of Ships and the Sea
Stories of Ships and the Sea
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Stories of Ships and the Sea

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First published in 1922, this vintage book contains five short stories written by Jack London. All of the tales are linked through a common nautical theme and include exciting stories of life and adventure upon the high seas. Contents include: “Chris Farrington: Able Seaman”, “Typhoon off the Coast of Japan”, “The Lost Poacher”, “The Banks of the Sacramento”, and “In Yeddo Bay”. John Griffith London (1876 – 1916), commonly known as Jack London, was an American journalist, social activist, and novelist. He was an early pioneer of commercial magazine fiction, becoming one of the first globally-famous celebrity writers who were able to earn a large amount of money from their writing. Other notable works by this author include: “The Cruise of the Dazzler” (1902), “The Kempton-Wace Letters” (1903), and “The Call of the Wild” (1903). Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 17, 2019
ISBN9781528787178
Author

Jack London

Jack London was born in San Francisco in 1876, and was a prolific and successful writer until his death in 1916. During his lifetime he wrote novels, short stories and essays, and is best known for ‘The Call of the Wild’ and ‘White Fang’.

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    Book preview

    Stories of Ships and the Sea - Jack London

    STORIES OF

    SHIPS AND THE SEA

    By

    JACK LONDON

    First published in 1922

    This edition published by Read Books Ltd.

    Copyright © 2019 Read Books Ltd.

    This book is copyright and may not be

    reproduced or copied in any way without

    the express permission of the publisher in writing

    British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

    A catalogue record for this book is available

    from the British Library

    Contents

    Jack London

    CHRIS FARRINGTON: ABLE SEAMAN

    TYPHOON OFF THE COAST OF JAPAN

    THE LOST POACHER

    THE BANKS OF THE SACRAMENTO

    IN YEDDO BAY

    Jack London

    Jack London was born in San Francisco, USA in 1876. In order to support his working class family, he left school at the age of fourteen and worked in a string of unskilled jobs, before returning briefly to graduate. Around this time, London discovered the public library in Oakland, and immersed himself in the literature of the day. In 1894, after a spell working on merchant ships, he set out to experience the life of the tramp, with a view to gaining an insight into the national class system and the raw essence of the human condition. At the age of nineteen, upon returning, London was admitted to the University of California in Berkeley, but left before graduating after just six months due to financial pressures.

    London published his first short story, ‘Typhoon off the Coast of Japan’, in 1893. At this point, he turned seriously to writing, producing work at a prolific rate. Over the next decade, he began to be published in major magazines of the day, producing some of his best-remembered stories, such as ‘To Build a Fire’. Starting in 1902, London turned to novels, producing almost twenty in fifteen years. Of these, his best-known are Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set during the Klondike Gold Rush. He also produced a number of popular and still widely-anthologized stories, such as ‘An Odyssey of the North’ and ‘Love of Life’. London even proved himself as an excellent journalist, reporting on the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco and the Mexican Revolution of 1910.

    London was an impassioned advocate of socialism and workers’ rights, and these themes inform a number of his works – most notably his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, published in 1907. He even ran unsuccessfully as the Socialist nominee for mayor of Oakland on two occasions. London died in 1916, aged 40.

    CHRIS FARRINGTON:

    ABLE SEAMAN

    CHRIS FARRINGTON: ABLE SEAMAN

    If you vas in der old country ships, a liddle shaver like you vood pe only der boy, und you vood wait on der able seamen. Und ven der able seaman sing out, 'Boy, der water-jug!' you vood jump quick, like a shot, und bring der water-jug. Und ven der able seaman sing out, 'Boy, my boots!' you vood get der boots. Und you vood pe politeful, und say 'Yessir' und 'No sir.' But you pe in der American ship, and you t'ink you are so good as der able seamen. Chris, mine boy, I haf ben a sailorman for twenty-two years, und do you t'ink you are so good as me? I vas a sailorman pefore you vas borned, und I knot und reef und splice ven you play mit topstrings und fly kites.

    But you are unfair, Emil! cried Chris Farrington, his sensitive face flushed and hurt. He was a slender though strongly built young fellow of seventeen, with Yankee ancestry writ large all over him.

    Dere you go vonce again! the Swedish sailor exploded. My name is Mister Johansen, und a kid of a boy like you call me 'Emil!' It vas insulting, und comes pecause of der American ship!

    But you call me 'Chris'! the boy expostulated, reproachfully.

    But you vas a boy.

    Who does a man's work, Chris retorted. "And because I do a man's work I have as much right to call you by your first name as you me. We are all equals in this fo'castle, and you know it. When we signed for the voyage in San Francisco, we signed as sailors on the Sophie Sutherland and there was no difference made with any of us. Haven't I always done my work? Did I ever shirk? Did you or any other man ever have to take a wheel for me? Or a lookout? Or go aloft?"

    Chris is right, interrupted a young English sailor. "No man has had to do a tap of his work yet. He signed as good as any of us

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