The Cruise of the Snark: a Sailing Voyage Through the South Pacific in a Cutter-Rigged Ketch

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The story of Jack London’s adventure to the South Pacific

The Cruise of the Snark tells the story of a sailing voyage by the author Jack London (The Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Sea-Wolf etc) and his wife Charmain across the South Pacific. The Snark was a cutter-rigged ketch named after the subject of Lewis Carroll’s famous poem. She set sail with a small crew from San Francisco Bay in the Spring of 1907 bound for Hawaii, The Marquesas Islands, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji, Samoa, and the Soloman Islands. Unfortunately, the Londons were forced to end their voyage at Guadalcanal because Jack London fell ill. The late arrival of the Snark at its expected destination, caused by London’s incapacity, gave rise to speculation that the vessel had been lost. The Londons sailed home by steamer, whilst the Snark was taken to Australia by a skeleton crew where she was sold. This description of a sailing adventure in the early 20th century is made very evocative by London’s exceptional prose and the text is enhanced by photographs.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.