John Barleycorn

Jack LondonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.9

Word count: 357K words
Chapters: 36

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.John Barleycorn by Jack LondonAuthor: London, Jack, 1876-1916,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 1, 1995

Editor's review

John Barleycorn is an autobiographical work written in the first person by Jack London. Centered on alcohol and drinking, it recounts his personal experiences with drink from boyhood to maturity while weaving in observations of drinking habits among sailors, workers, journalists, and other groups. The title borrows the figure of "John Barleycorn" from English folk song to stand for liquor. In a candid, even self-scrutinizing tone, London discusses the social ease and fleeting pleasure alcohol brings alongside the bonds that gradually tighten around the drinker. The prose is direct and the narrative flowing, carrying London's characteristic spirit of adventure and social observation. It is not a temperance manual but a personal reflection on habit and self-control, and it also offers insight into American social life and drinking culture in the early twentieth century. This edition is a public-domain English eBook from Project Gutenberg and serves as a useful companion to Jack London's nonfiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy Jack London's work and want to explore his nonfiction
General readers interested in drinking culture, addiction, and personal habits
Students studying American social life and drinking culture in the early twentieth century
English learners accustomed to reading autobiographies and narrative essays in English

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for a systematic method of quitting alcohol or medical advice
Readers of Jack London expecting pure adventure fiction
Readers who are uncomfortable with or wish to avoid the topic of drinking altogether

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to get a sense of the author's narrative voice, then read his experiences chronologically.
As you read, pay attention to the author's descriptions of drinking scenes and distinguish personal feeling from social observation.
Read alongside biographical material on Jack London to understand the work's autobiographical nature.
After finishing, write down your own thoughts on habit and self-control as an extension exercise.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What does the title "John Barleycorn" mean?

"John Barleycorn" is a personified figure of barley from English folk song, often used to refer to liquor made from grain. Jack London uses the name as a byword for alcohol, and the title itself signals that the book is centered on drinking.

Is this a novel or an autobiography?

The work is narrated in the first person and is clearly autobiographical: the author looks back on his own experiences with alcohol while adding observations on social drinking habits. It is not a work of fiction, but the storytelling is vivid and reads with a narrative feel.

Does this book advocate quitting alcohol?

The work is more a candid review of personal experience and self-reflection, presenting the complex effects of alcohol rather than promoting any temperance program. Readers may regard it as a personal account of habit and self-control, not a medical or temperance guide.

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About the author

Jack London Author · American · 1876–1916

Jack London (1876–1916) was an American realist writer born in San Francisco; his original name was John Griffith Chaney. He left school early to make a living, worked as a sailor and a tramp, and once went to Alaska to search for gold. These hard experiences became an important source of his writing. His works cover a wide range of subjects and often focus on the harsh struggle for survival in the northern wilderness, the relationship between humans and animals, and the misery of the lower classes. His style is vigorous and forceful, his plots are tightly constructed, and his writing combines adventure with social criticism. His representative works include The Call of the Wild, The Sea-Wolf, White Fang and Martin Eden. The library holds 91 of his works, including White Fang, Martin Eden, The Iron Heel and The People of the Abyss. He wrote about 50 works in his lifetime and is one of the most widely translated American writers of the twentieth century.