The Hearts of Three

Commenting on his jubilee fiftieth novel «The Hearts of Three», Jack London noted that in none of his other adventure works could the reader find such a rapidly developing action. This feature was explained simply - for the first time in his life, the world-famous writer attempted to compose a script for cinema, and more often than not, on screen, people do not ponder their feelings, they act. Taking on the description of the adventures of two heroes who set out to find the treasures of their distant ancestor - the renowned pirate Morgan, London began collaborating with the experienced American playwright Charles Goddard. As a result, a novel appeared in which events literally bubble with excitement. «I certainly do not intend to hide that I am proud of this work... I would advise the reader... to immerse himself fully in the narrative, let him then try to tell me that my book is easy to put down,» wrote London about his novel. «The Hearts of Three» truly captivates. Shootouts, chases, stone statues in the jungle, mysterious caves, a cauldron of molten gold, a treasure chest - these and dozens of similar scenes are just begging to be put on screen. «So far I have certainly created nothing like this and am almost convinced that I will not create anything like it in the future... I will be very surprised if this book does not gain the widest distribution,» the writer noted once and was right. «The Hearts of Three» became his last novel, and this work indeed gained widespread fame. «The Hearts of Three» has been adapted multiple times, but only after the writer's death. A five-part film based on the novel was produced in the USSR. However, all cinematic versions of «The Hearts of Three» do not convey the excitement and incredible charm of the literary original, for Jack London was and remains a remarkable master of words.

The book is adorned with illustrations by Leningrad artist Nikolai Anatolyevich Travin. Illustrating science fiction adventure works was his favorite job. Among the authors whose stories and novels he illustrated were Alexander Belyayev, Jules Verne, Herbert Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Jack London. Readers of the first half of the 20th century were well acquainted with the special «Travin style». Nikolai Anatolyevich graduated from an art school in Barnaul. In the early 1920s, he moved to Petrograd and began collaborating with the magazines «Around the World», «Chizh», and «Yezh», working with the publishing houses «Detgiz» and «Young Guard». From the mid-1930s, the artist lived in Pushkin. Soon after the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Nikolai Anatolyevich moved to Leningrad, where he continued to work until the first winter of the blockade, which he did not survive.