The Kempton-Wace Letters

by Jack London

The novel presents a discussion of the philosophy of love and sex, written in the form of a series of letters between two men, "Herbert Wace," a young scientist, and "Dane Kempton," an elderly poet. Writer Jack London wrote "Wace's" letters, and Anna Strunsky wrote "Kempton's." In the late 19th century, the authors were part of a San Francisco radical literary group known as "The Crowd."

Kempton makes the case for feeling and emotion, while Wace proceeds "scientifically" and analyzes love in Darwinian

"I purpose to order my affairs in a rational manner....Wherefore I marry Hester Stebbins. I am not impelled by the archaic sex madness of the beast, nor by the obsolescent romance madness of later-day man. I contract a tie which reason tells me is based upon health and sanity and compatibility. My intellect shall delight in that tie."

Initially the public was piqued by the anonymity of the writers and the book was moderately successful. London biographer Russ Kingman praised the book; he quoted the Buffalo Commercial as admiring the "sheer charm of its prose" and saying the book "holds firmly its place in the front rank of the best of the season's publications."

Genres: Classics, Fiction

170 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

John Griffith Chaney, better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.

London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal rights, workers’ rights and socialism. London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam.

His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't care what the 1903 New York Times said. This book is magnificent. I happened upon this book totally by accident. I'm not particularly well read and hadn't ever seen anything by Jack London. I saw a quote attributed to him on a blog, became curious and ended up reading his Wikipedia entry, then found my way to the Gutenberg site of free ebooks. The Kempton Wace letters intrigued me, I guess because they are so different from other things I've read. Fictitious letters written to debate the nature of love. Turns out I hadn't given love much thought before reading this book, and all throughout the read it felt like these debates were spelling out my soul for me. Next up, John Barlycorn. I've got to know more about this wild man Jack London.

[Timothy Burbage · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got half way through and had to give up.

You have two people writing each other letters about love. One is a scientist in America who believes that love is overvalued and you should marry for companionship, compatibility and after evaluation. The other is a romantic in London who thinks that to love is to be human and enjoyment of life should be above the practicalities.

This is a good start. It just doesn't go anywhere.

Each person just keep reiterating the same points again and again and again. I was 50% of the way through and I was getting bored of reading this, so I just quit.

[Maksym · Rating 3 out of 5]

A medium-length read of about 46k words on the subject of love and sex and marriage. Seemingly interesting from the philosophical point of view, it quickly becomes a repetition of one's thoughts without inventive and wholly new arguments. This repetition, although reduced by the plot advancement, renders the entire sociological essay somewhat... boring?

While masterfully written and with insightful views on the subjects, it just does not appeal to me and the ending with its structural novelty (no spoilers, but you'll see what I mean) appears somewhat rushed.

[Riccardo Mainetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

È stata una lettura emozionante ed entusiasmante. Un continuo botta e risposta non solo tra due diversi uomini ma anche tra due modi di pensare e di vedere e interpretare l'amore.

[Bill Jenkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible. I agree with others that this could all be said in two chapters. It’s very repetitive! Both writers are extremely verbose. The poet writer letters meant nothing to me.

[Charles · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, simply terrible. London and Strunsky take almost forty letters to say what could have been said in two. Strunsky's letters are so verbose and purple as to be unreadable, not that she says anything worth reading. London's letters are more well-written and readable, but are repetitive. The only redeeming aspect to this "novel" is that you get some clear insight into London's views, including those on love, science, modernity and the human condition (all taken with a little grain of salt, figuring that, in The Kempton-Wace Letters, London assumed the role of a zealot and, by necessity, lacked moderation/depth/elaboration that he might otherwise personally possess) that can be utilized when analyzing his subsequent works.

[Trounin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Существует ли любовь в том виде, в котором её принято видеть? Юные сердца идут на безумные поступки, забывая о требуемом холодном расчёте. Что есть мужчина для женщины и женщина для мужчины? Никак не объект для душевных переживаний, скорее созданный природой инструмент для продления человеческого рода. Примерно в таком духе думает Герберт Уэс, от лица которого пишет письма Джек Лондон своему оппоненту Анне Струнской. воплотившей образ Дэна Кэмптона, воспринимающего любовь с позиции чувств. Читателю предстоит наблюдать за перепиской прагматика и лирика, чьё понимание жизни никогда не найдёт точек соприкосновения.

(c) Trounin

[Lbj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good