Set during the height of the Klondike gold rush this powerful short story follows two gold prospectors traversing the treacherous Canadian tundra. Supplies are low and their fates hang in the balance but they have no choice but to continue, it is too late to turn back. They must rely on each other to survive, they have no one else, but in this frozen waste can they trust each other with their lives? It is a powerful short story emblematic of London’s incredible ability to bring the beautiful brutality of the frozen Yukon to life. If you loved Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘The Revenant’ you’ll love this inspired piece on the untamed Yukon.
Jack London (1876–1916) was a pioneer, novelist, journalist and social activist. London was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity thanks to his pioneering work in commercial fiction and magazines. Additionally he is accredited as a major innovator in the genre we now know as science fiction. Growing up in a working class background and spending several years homeless, he was a passionate fighter for workers’ rights, socialism, unionisation and animal rights. He would go on to be one of the highest paid authors in America thanks to his classics such as ‘Call of the Wild’, ‘White fang’ and ‘Sea Wolf’.
