Charmian London

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Charmian Kittredge London, 1905, photograph by James E. Purdy

Charmian Kittredge London (born November 27, 1871 in Wilmington near Los Angeles , † January 14, 1955 in Glen Ellen , California ) was an American writer and the second wife of Jack London .

childhood and education

Charmian Kittredge was born in a suburb south of Los Angeles to the writer Dayelle "Daisy" Wiley and the Californian hotelier Willard Kittredge . Her mother died in 1877 when she was six years old. She then sent Charmian's father to Berkeley , where she was raised by her aunt, Ninetta "Netta" Wiley Eames and her husband, Roscoe Eames, who had no children of their own and who were editors of Overland Monthly .

Charmian took music lessons, became an accomplished pianist, and developed a good singing voice. She enjoyed riding in the hills at a time when few women rode. Socially and intellectually ambitious, she felt an urge to develop further, and she earned money to travel to Europe. Her education at Mills College focused on the arts, literature and philosophy. Her uncle Roscoe Eames taught her shorthand and typing , which she should use in her working life. At Mills, she made her living as secretary to the co-founder and later president, Ms. Susan L. Mills.

Marriage and writing career

Jack London met Charmian in March 1900 on a visit to the Eames to agree on the publication of his writings. Four years later, he divorced his wife, Bess Maddern, who had two children by him - Joan and Bess. The new couple married in Chicago on November 19, 1905. His biographer Russ Kingman called Charmian " Jack's soul-mate, always at his side, and a perfect match." )

When Jack died in 1916, he bequeathed almost all of his fortune to Charmian, leaving only symbolic amounts to his first wife and their children. Charmian and Jack had no surviving children. The daughter Joy died one day after the birth on June 19, 1910 and another pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage . After Jack's death, Charmian dedicated herself to maintaining her home on Beauty Ranch by selling publishing and filming rights to London's works.

Jack and Charmian London on the beach in Hawaii, 1915

Charmian London wrote three autobiographical works about her life with Jack London: The Log of the Snark (1915), Our Hawaii (1917), and The Book of Jack London (two volumes) (1921). She also wrote forewords to his writings, which were published posthumously, and others. a. on Dutch Courage and Other Stories (1922). The film Jack London , released in 1943, is based on her book The Book of Jack London .

Her writings on London are considered by scholars to be an important but sometimes unreliable source of biographical information. Clarice Stasz, author of a book about their relationship, calls it “an uneven account that omits Jack's illegitimacy, yet has surprisingly frank information nonetheless concerning his personality (an unbalanced account that omits Jack's illegitimacy, yet contains surprisingly direct information about his personality). "

Next life

Soon after her husband's demise, Charmian had an affair with Harry Houdini . A PBS source quotes a Houdini biographer:

“Most of the evidence of their affair, convincingly reconstructed by Houdini biographer Kenneth Silverman, comes from brief entries in Charmian's diaries. They saw each other over several weeks early in 1918 while Charmian was living in New York, where Houdini was starring in the patriotic World War I extravaganza, "Cheer Up." Charmian wrote that after they saw each other a few times, Houdini made a "declaration" that "rather shakes me up." They became intimate a short time later. She wrote that one visit by Houdini had "stirred me to the deep," and that he apparently felt the same, declaring, "I'm mad about you," and "I give all of myself to you." Throughout, she refers to him alternately as "Magic," her "Magic Man," or "Magic Lover." As intense as it apparently was, their attachment did not last long. Charmian, the "New Woman" whose marriage to London had included open sexual experimentation, never stopped seeing other men. "

“Most of the clues about their affair, as convincingly reconstructed by the Houdini biographer Kenneth Silverman, come from short entries in Charmian's diaries. They met for several weeks in early 1918, when Charmian was living in New York, where Houdini appeared on the flamboyant patriotic World War II show "Cheer Up". Charmian later wrote that after they met a few times, Houdini made a "statement" that "shook her quite a bit." They soon became intimate. She wrote that she was "very upset" by a visit from Houdini and that he apparently felt the same, stating, "I'm crazy about you" and "I give you my all". All the while she wrote of him as "spell", as her "magical man" or "magical lover". As intense as their connection seemed to be, it didn't last long. Charmian, the "New Woman" whose marriage to London involved open sexual experimentation, never stopped meeting other men. "

Charmian London died in 1955 at the age of 83. Her ashes lie next to those of her husband Jack under the rock that marks her grave near Glen Ellen, California in Jack London State Historic Park .

Works

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b JackLondons.net: Charmian Kittredge London ( Memento from January 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Russ Kingman: A Pictorial Life of Jack London ( English ). Crown, 1979.
  3. ↑ Irving Stone: Jack London, Sailor on Horseback ( English ). New York: Doubleday, 1938.
  4. ↑ a b Clarice Stasz: Charmian Kittredge London ( English ) 2006.
  5. ↑ Jack London's Final Will (Jack London's Last Will)
  6. ↑ Thomas Streissguth: Jack London ( English ). Lerner Publications Company, 2001, ISBN 9780822549871 , pp. 88-89.
  7. ↑ Charmian Kittredge London: The Log of the Snark . The Macmillan Company, New York 1915.
  8. ↑ London, Charmian Kittredge: Our Hawaii . The Macmillan Co, New York 1917.
  9. ↑ Charmian London: The Book of Jack London , volume (two volumes). The Century Co., New York 1921.
  10. ↑ London, Jack (1922), Dutch Courage and Other Stories, preface by Charmian London, New York: The MacMillan Company. (Link to the foreword)
  11. ↑ Clarice Stasz: Biographies of Jack London . The Jack London Collection: Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center, Sonoma State University. April 20, 2011. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved on March 8, 2020.
  12. ↑ Houdini: Jack and Charmian London . The American Experience: Public Broadcasting System. 1999. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
  13. ↑ Charmian Kittredge London . findagrave.com. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME London, Charmian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES London, Charmian Kittredge; Kittredge, Charmian (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer and sailor
DATE OF BIRTH November 27, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH Wilmington , California
DATE OF DEATH January 14, 1955
Place of death Glen Ellen , California , USA