Jerry the Islander Michael, Brother Jerry Son of the Sun

You can familiarize yourself with the entire book in electronic format by following the link on the website of the SZKEO. The gift illustrated edition is printed on domestic toned calendered cream paper with a bookmark ribbon of the same color with a headband.

The collection includes two novellas by the famous American writer Jack London about the adventures of dogs in distant Oceania and in circuses in the USA. «Jerry the Islander» is published in the translation by V. Onegin, while «Michael, Brother Jerry» is in the translation by N. Zhukovsky. The book also includes nine stories by London in translations by M. Kovalevskaya and E. Utkina, combined under the common title «Son of the Sun». At the end of the publication, there is a brief outline of the life and work of American artist Anton Otto Fischer, whose magnificent illustrations adorn most of the works in this book.

The novellas included in this book, «Jerry the Islander» and «Michael, Brother Jerry», became the penultimate major works of the famous American writer Jack London. They were published in 1917 - the only later released novel was «Hearts of Three». The writer lived a rich, albeit short, life. In his youth, he engaged in illegal oyster harvesting in San Francisco Bay, and later, with no less enthusiasm, hunted his former companions. London was a sailor on a schooner that caught sea lions off the coast of Japan; during the gold rush, he managed to visit Alaska. These and other adventures provided the author with rich material for impressive novellas and stories. However, the tumultuous youth days were over, and he did not want to return to old themes. In 1906, the novella «White Fang» appeared from the pen of the writer. Its hero was not a man, but a wolf. The approach was successful, and London returned to it ten years later, making the main characters of two of his novellas Irish terriers Jerry and Michael. The former is destined to end up on the shores of distant Oceania, while the latter finds himself in traveling circuses in the USA. The fates of the two brother dogs are so different, but both novellas share one thing - the undeniable talent of the writer.

Most of the works in the publication are adorned with magnificent illustrations by Anton Otto Fischer. The future artist was born in Germany in late winter 1882. He became an orphan at an early age: the boy was placed in an orphanage at one of the monasteries, and over time he could have become a clergyman. However, the measured dull life under the cross did not inspire Anton at all. Soon he ran away from his guardians and became a sailor in the merchant fleet. It was during this time that Anton began to make his first drawings. The young man realized that he lacked skill, so during the next downtime on the American coast, he found the now-famous cartoonist Arthur Frost and asked to be his apprentice. The peculiar apprenticeship lasted just over a year. Then Fischer honed his drawing skills in Paris at the famous private academy Julien. Anton returned to the USA already as an established master and opened his studio. Two years later, his collaboration with the magazine «Saturday Evening Post» began, where, among other things, stories by popular writers were published. Among them were Robert Louis Stevenson, Jules Verne, Herman Melville, and Jack London. For the «Saturday Evening Post», whose collaboration lasted more than forty years, Fischer created over a thousand illustrations - some of which are included in this book.