Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Ebook319 pages5 hours
The Iron Heel
By Jack London
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
The Iron Heel is a dystopian novel by American writer Jack London. Generally considered to be "the earliest of the modern Dystopian", it chronicles the rise of an oligarchic tyranny in the United States.
The novel is based on the (fictional) "Everhard Manuscript" written by Avis Everhard which she hid and which was subsequently found centuries later. In addition, this novel has an introduction and series of (often lengthy) footnotes written from the perspective of scholar Anthony Meredith. Meredith writes from around 2600 AD or 419 B.O.M. (the Brotherhood of Man). Jack London thus writes at two levels, often having Meredith condescendingly correcting the errors of Everhard yet, at the same time, exposing the often incomplete understanding of this distant future perspective.
Meredith's introduction also acts as a deliberate "spoiler" (the term did not yet exist at the time of writing). Before ever getting a chance to get to know Avis and Ernest, how they fell in love or how Avis became politically involved, the reader is already told that all their struggles and hopes would end in total failure and repression, and that both of them would be summarily executed. This gives all that follows the air of a foreordained tragedy. There is still left the consolation that a happy end would come for humanity as a whole – though hundreds of years too late for Avis and Ernest as individuals; the cruel oligarchy would fall, and the two will be vindicated and respected by posterity as pioneers and martyrs.
The Oligarchy are the largest monopoly trusts (or robber barons) who manage to squeeze out the middle class by bankrupting most small to mid-sized business as well as reducing all farmers to effective serfdom. This Oligarchy maintains power through a "labor caste" and the Mercenaries. Labor in essential industries like steel and rail are elevated and given decent wages, housing, and education. Indeed, the tragic turn in the novel (and Jack London's core warning to his contemporaries) is the treachery of these favored unions which break with the other unions and side with the Oligarchy. Further, a second, military caste is formed: the Mercenaries. The Mercenaries are officially the army of the US but are in fact in the employ of the Oligarchs.
The novel is based on the (fictional) "Everhard Manuscript" written by Avis Everhard which she hid and which was subsequently found centuries later. In addition, this novel has an introduction and series of (often lengthy) footnotes written from the perspective of scholar Anthony Meredith. Meredith writes from around 2600 AD or 419 B.O.M. (the Brotherhood of Man). Jack London thus writes at two levels, often having Meredith condescendingly correcting the errors of Everhard yet, at the same time, exposing the often incomplete understanding of this distant future perspective.
Meredith's introduction also acts as a deliberate "spoiler" (the term did not yet exist at the time of writing). Before ever getting a chance to get to know Avis and Ernest, how they fell in love or how Avis became politically involved, the reader is already told that all their struggles and hopes would end in total failure and repression, and that both of them would be summarily executed. This gives all that follows the air of a foreordained tragedy. There is still left the consolation that a happy end would come for humanity as a whole – though hundreds of years too late for Avis and Ernest as individuals; the cruel oligarchy would fall, and the two will be vindicated and respected by posterity as pioneers and martyrs.
The Oligarchy are the largest monopoly trusts (or robber barons) who manage to squeeze out the middle class by bankrupting most small to mid-sized business as well as reducing all farmers to effective serfdom. This Oligarchy maintains power through a "labor caste" and the Mercenaries. Labor in essential industries like steel and rail are elevated and given decent wages, housing, and education. Indeed, the tragic turn in the novel (and Jack London's core warning to his contemporaries) is the treachery of these favored unions which break with the other unions and side with the Oligarchy. Further, a second, military caste is formed: the Mercenaries. The Mercenaries are officially the army of the US but are in fact in the employ of the Oligarchs.
Unavailable
Author
Jack London
Jack London was born in San Francisco in 1876, and was a prolific and successful writer until his death in 1916. During his lifetime he wrote novels, short stories and essays, and is best known for ‘The Call of the Wild’ and ‘White Fang’.
Read more from Jack London
50 Great Love Letters You Have To Read (Golden Deer Classics) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Build a Fire Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Deadline Artists—Scandals, Tragedies & Triumphs: More of America's Greatest Newspaper Columns Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Classic American Short Story MEGAPACK ® (Volume 1): 34 of the Greatest Stories Ever Written Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jack London: The Greatest Short Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClassic Tales of Science Fiction & Fantasy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Greatest American Short Stories: 50+ Classics of American Literature Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Victorian Mystery Megapack: 27 Classic Mystery Tales Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Greatest American Short Stories (Vol. 1) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Post-Apocalyptic Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhite Fang: Level 2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Plague, Pestilence & Apocalypse MEGAPACK ®: 18 Tales of Doom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Classics (Omnibus Edition) (Diversion Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTRICK OR TREAT Boxed Set: 200+ Eerie Tales from the Greatest Storytellers: Horror Classics, Mysterious Cases, Gothic Novels, Monster Tales & Supernatural Stories: Sweeney Todd, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Frankenstein, The Vampire, Dracula, Sleepy Hollow, From Beyond… Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoloch Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Jack London Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe People of the Abyss Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to The Iron Heel
Related ebooks
The Hanging Stranger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Second Variety Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Forest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArslan Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lot & Lot's Daughter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Vindication of Man: Book Five of the Eschaton Sequence Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Vengeance of Orion Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Beyond the Door Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Edge of Tomorrow: A Novel Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Red One Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMisericordia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House of Untold Stories: 50 Unexpected Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreener Than You Think Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twilight At Noon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOrder of the Dragon-Book One: Dragons, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Power: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Status Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fighter In the Sands Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Agent Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe World Swappers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Marriage of Heaven and Hell Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Undead at War (And Other Stories) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Iron Heel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDespoilers of the Golden Empire Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Orion Among the Stars Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Scarlet Plague Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The World Set Free Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Satire For You
As I Lay Dying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mash: A Novel About Three Army Doctors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shriver: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Master & Margarita Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sisters Brothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Going Postal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bonfire of the Vanities: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5House of Cards Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Clown Brigade Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kill for Love Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It Was Just Another Day in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Robot Who Looked Like Me: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Living Girl on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bestseller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51900: Or; The Last President Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trout Fishing in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Candy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Five People You Meet in Hell: An Unauthorized Parody Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No One Left to Come Looking for You: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Homeland: And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Dog's Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A History of the African-American People (Proposed) by Strom Thurmond: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeart of a Dog Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Friday Black Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Utopia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Herland Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Dice Man: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Iron Heel
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews