Fri 14 Mar 2014
Reviewed by Jonathan Lewis: JACK LONDON – The Scarlet Plague.
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Science Fiction & Fantasy[3] Comments
JACK LONDON – The Scarlet Plague. HiLo Books, US, softcover, 2012. (The Radium Age Science Fiction Series 1.) Introduction by Matthew Battles. Originally published in London Magazine in 1912. This edition follows the text of the hardcover edition published by The Macmillan Company, also 1912.
Although perhaps best known for his 1903 novel, The Call of the Wild and his 1908 version of the short story, “To Build a Fire,†San Francisco native Jack London also wrote proto-science fiction and dystopian literature. London’s 1912 novella The Scarlet Plague, reprinted in paperback in 2012 — the first in HiLo Books’ The Radium Age Science Fiction Series—remains a lesser known, but still culturally significant, work of early science fiction.
Set in the scenic Bay Area in 2073, The Scarlet Plague is best categorized a work of post-apocalyptic literature. Sixty years prior, a plague of unknown origin wiped out most of the population. Survivors are scant. Civilization has fallen. What’s left of mankind has been reduced to what London depicts as a state of barbarism and savagery.
There is one man, however, who remembers — with great sadness it should be noted — the era before civilization’s fall. Enter Professor James Howard Smith, a professor of English literature at the University of California-Berkeley. The novella centers around the elderly Smith (known simply as “Granserâ€) recounting the emergence of the scarlet plague and its destructive impact on humanity. He tells his primitive grandsons what life was like before the plague and how the post-apocalyptic tribal society in which they now live was formed.
London’s vision of civilization’s decline, illuminated by Granser’s story, is both intriguing and one that has been recast in myriad forms by different authors. Think Stephen King in The Stand. (Also, substitute zombies for the plague and the fundamentals of the story could still work.)
That isn’t to say that London’s novella is simply an adventure or proto-zombie story. There is a definite philosophical meaning to be found within the work. As Matthew Battles aptly notes in his Introduction, London’s work resounds with echoes of the 18th-century Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico’s cyclical interpretation of History. Toward the end, Granser tells his grandsons that eventually, civilization will be reborn, but that it too shall fall.
Strong stuff. It’s unfortunate, then, that London chose the weak narrative device of a character telling a tale to semi-eager listeners. Also, one wishes London showed why Granser was immune to the plague or at least potentially hinted at an explanation. But perhaps London’s point was that History’s path is an incredibly random one.
The Scarlet Plague remains a worthwhile, albeit quick, read. That said, it’s difficult to imagine that a publisher would consider publishing such a work today. Nevertheless, the novella provides the contemporary reader with a greater understanding of London’s worldview and how he envisioned the class system in the United States might look in 2013.
In conclusion, The Scarlet Plague is a chilling reminder that all that mankind has accomplished in the name of technology could one day disappear. A hundred years have elapsed since London’s work was published. Science fiction has not yet tired of contemplating civilization’s fall and asking the question: what then? Maybe it never will.
March 14th, 2014 at 4:35 pm
London was a great favorite of mine as a young man, and remains so today, though the London of those early tales has taken a back seat to the London of Martin Eden, The Iron Heel, and Burning Daylight among others.
London had an unsentimental mind. In fact his life and lifestyle led to a dark vision of mankind, socialist certainly, but never really content with it. The restless nature of London’s mind could be a great strength, but also a great hurdle to clear.
I’ve always thought of London as a man almost incapable of being happy or content.
This book is more H.G. Wells than Jules Verne, more Edward Bellamy than Edgar Rice Burroughs. London’s science fiction has a philosophic edge, they aren’t adventure but thinly disguised cultural statements and political tracts.
Like you I thought he missed some opportunities in regard to the story, but then those weren’t part of his design.
True, no one would buy this book today, but then Hemingway couldn’t sell For Whom the Bell Tolls either. Imagine trying to justify ‘the earth moved’ to a modern publisher screaming for an explicit sex scene?
This book also reflects London’s embrace of Neitzche and the uber mensch along with the ‘eternal return.’
Sadly philosophical and political tracts aren’t quite as much fun as adventure stories, even when written by one of the great adventure story writers.
But, as you point out, it’s a short novel, and well worth a look if only to see how little the genre has changed in some respects.
March 14th, 2014 at 5:29 pm
All good points.
The main character, Smith/Granser, like London is seemingly incapable of happiness, at least in the “savage” world in which he finds himself. He longs for his days as a professor of English at Berkeley. Interestingly, after fleeing Berkeley when the plague hit, Smith/Granser roams the northern California countryside with a dog as a companion.
George Orwell believed that London had something of a “Fascist strain”. I think it’s a bit more complicated than that, but there is certainly a world weary pessimism in “The Scarlet Plague” and Smith/Ganser is reluctant quasi- uber-mensch, tasked with rebuilding civilization, if only by recounting the story of the past and by having children and grandchildren.
March 14th, 2014 at 7:43 pm
If anyone’s interested, you can find the magazine version online at
http://london.sonoma.edu/Writings/Scarlet/