Physical description

Hard cover book. Before Adam
Author: Jack London
Publisher: Collins Clear-Type Press
Date: 1910s–1920s
Further Information: A plain volume bound in red cloth, with a stuck-on library classification label ("PAT FIC LON") on the spine and no visible date, edition statement, or printer's imprint on the pages shown the copyright/date page. Gilt decoration and lettering to spine, no illustrated boards, and no dust jacket.

Publication type

fiction

Inscriptions & markings

The label on the spine with the typed text PAT FIC LON
Paste down front end paper has a sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library covered by a sticker from Corangamite Regional Library Service. Front loose end paper has a stamp from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute
Front loose end paper has a stamp from Corangamite Regional Library Service

Summary

Before Adam (1906–07) is one of Jack London's more unusual novels. It's narrated by a modern man who is a "freak of heredity" through recurring, vivid dreams, he relives the memories of a prehistoric ancestor he calls "Big-Tooth." The story was first serialised in Everybody's Magazine before being published as a book, and tells of a man who dreams he lives the life of an early hominid. Most of the narrative unfolds through the eyes of Big-Tooth, one of the more primitive "Cave People," set against the more advanced "Fire People" and the animal-like "Tree People." Supporting characters include the hominid's father, a love interest, and Red-Eye, a savage "atavism" who terrorises the Cave People, with a sabre-toothed cat also playing a role.