- Charmian London
-
Charmian Kittredge London 
Jack and Charmian London, ca. 1911, at the old Winery Cottage, their home at Beauty Ranch.Charmian Kittredge London (November 27, 1871, Wilmington, California – January 14, 1955, Glen Ellen, California[1]) was an American writer and second wife of Jack London.
Biography
Charmian Kittridge was born to poet Dayelle "Daisy" Wiley and California hotelier Willard Kittredge in a suburb south of Los Angeles. In 1877, after her mother died when she was six years old, Charmian's father sent her to Berkeley, California. She was raised by her aunt, Ninetta "Netta" Wiley Eames and husband Roscoe Eames, who had no children of their own and were editors of the journal, Overland Monthly.[2] Charmian studied music, becoming an accomplished pianist and developed a good singing voice. She enjoyed horseback riding through the hills at a time when few women rode. Socially and intellectually ambitious, she strived to improve herself, and earned money for a trip through Europe.[3] Her education at Mills College included lessons in stenography and typing, which served her through her working life. At Mills, she earned her way as secretary to its President, Mrs. Susan L. Mills.[4]
Jack London met Charmian in March 1900 on a visit to the Eames' about publishing his writings. He divorced his first wife Bess Maddern who had two children by him, Joan and Bess, four years later, and the new couple married in Chicago on November 19, 1905. Biographer Russ Kingman called Charmian "Jack's soul-mate, always at his side, and a perfect match."
Jack died in 1916, bequeathing nearly his entire estate to Charmian, leaving token amounts to his first wife and their children.[5] Charmian and Jack had no children who survived them. A daughter, Joy, died soon after birth and another pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Following his death, Charmian committed herself to saving their home at Beauty Ranch by selling publication rights to London's works and contracting screenplay rights with film makers.
Jack and Charmian London on the beach in Hawaii, 1915.
Charmian London authored three major autobiographical works about her life with Jack London: The Log of the Snark,[6] Our Hawaii,[7] and The Book of Jack London (two volumes).[8] She also wrote prefaces to his writings that were published posthumously, including Dutch Courage and Other Stories.[9]
Her writings about London are considered by scholars to be an important but sometimes flawed source of biographical information. Clarice Stasz, author of a recent book about their relationship, calls it "an uneven account that omits Jack's illegitimacy, yet has surprisingly frank information nonetheless concerning his personality."[10]
Shortly after her husband's death, Charmian had an affair with Harry Houdini. A PBS source cites a Houdini biographer, saying:
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.[11]
Charmian London died in 1955, at the age of 83. Her ashes rest beside her husband Jack under the rock that marks their grave near Glen Ellen, California at Jack London State Historical Park.
External links
- Charmian Kittredge London, brief biography by Clarice Stasz
- The World of Jack London, Charmian Kittredge London
- The Book of Jack London, full text online at "The World of Jack London" website
References
- ^ "Charmian Kittredge London". http://www.jacklondons.net/charmianpage.html. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
- ^ Kingman, Russ, A Pictorial Life of Jack London, Crown: 1979.
- ^ Stone, Irving, Jack London, Sailor on Horseback, New York: Doubleday, 1938
- ^ London, Charmian The book of Jack London. Century Co., New York, 1921, Volume 1, p. 5.
- ^ Jack London's Final Will
- ^ London, Charmian Kittredge (1915), The Log of the Snark, New York: The Macmillan Company
- ^ London, Charmian Kittredge (1917), Our Hawaii, New York: The Macmillan Co,
- ^ London, Charmian (1921), The Book of Jack London (two volumes), New York: The Century Co.
- ^ London, Jack (1922), Dutch Courage and Other Stories, preface by Charmian London, New York: The MacMillan Company. (link to preface)
- ^ Clarice Stasz (2002-12-09). "Biographies of Jack London". The Jack London Collection: Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center, Sonoma State University. http://london.sonoma.edu/Essays/londonbio.html. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
- ^ "Houdini: Jack and Charmian London". The American Experience: Public Broadcasting System. 1999. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/houdini/peopleevents/pande06.html. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
Categories:- 1871 births
- 1955 deaths
- American biographers
- American women writers
- 20th-century women writers
- History of the San Francisco Bay Area
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
