Written by the beloved author, Jack London, The Night-Born is a compelling collection of ten short works of fiction, each featuring an interesting protagonist. The Madness of John Harned is narrated by a wealthy Ecuadorian man who attends a bull fight with his cousin, Maria, and the American man who is in love with her, John. While they watch the event, Maria and John have a debate that eventually leads to John to make an unpredictable and unfortunate choice. When the World was Young follows the aftermath of the meeting of two men, after a thief stumbles upon a strange barbaric man while trying to rob a countryside estate. Portraying a thrilling story of crime, To Kill a Man tests preconceived biases and assumptions while depicting a conversation between a woman and the man who had attempted to rob her house. The Benefit of the Doubt invokes melancholy feelings as it follows a man who returns to his hometown to find it in a state of decline. Featuring adventure and mystery, Winged Blackmail depicts a high-profile financier struggling to track down the person who is responsible for sending him blackmail letters via a courier pigeon. Finally, the title story of The Night-Born revolves around a strange woman and two retired gold-prospectors who feel their old career has stunted their lives despite the considerable wealth it earned them.
With reoccurring themes of human nature, justice, and the impermanent happiness of money, Jack London’s The Night-Born is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining. With stories set in the 20th century and accompanied by intellectual social commentary, The Night-Born grant readers a privileged perspective on the culture and societal norms of the 1900s. Meanwhile, modern readers can also relate to the human struggles that have remained to be present in contemporary society.
This edition of The Night-Born by the highly esteemed author, Jack London,
