Jack London

The House of Pride illustrated Jack London

Throughout House of Pride, especially with the leper stories, the reader can see the dramatic influence London's earlier journey to Hawaii, chronicled in his The Cruise of the Snark, had upon these short stories. Scenes and phrases are virtually lifted from that earlier memoir. As for the stories themselves, the collection is brief and can be read in one sitting. But its imagery is memorable. The plots are terse and tightly structured. And London produces the most melancholy moments with just an implication as to their eventual development, leaving the resolutions to be played out in the readers' minds.