The Scarlet Plague
by Jack London
'The Scarlet Plague ' Summary
The story takes place in 2073, sixty years after an uncontrollable epidemic, the Red Death, has depopulated the planet. James Smith is one of the survivors of the era before the scarlet plague hit and is still left alive in the San Francisco area, and he travels with his grandsons Edwin, Hoo-Hoo, and Hare-Lip. His grandsons are young and live as primeval hunter-gatherers in a heavily depopulated world. Their intellect is limited, as are their language abilities. Edwin asks Smith, whom they call "Granser", to tell them of the disease alternately referred to as scarlet plague, scarlet death, or red death.
Smith recounts the story of his life before the plague, when he was an English professor. In 2013, the year after "Morgan the Fifth was appointed President of the United States by the Board of Magnates", the disease came about and spread rapidly. Sufferers would turn scarlet, particularly on the face, and become numb in their lower extremities. Victims usually died within 30 minutes of first seeing symptoms. Despite the public's trust in doctors and scientists, no cure is found, and those who attempted to do so were also killed by the disease. The grandsons question Smith's belief in "germs" causing the illness because they cannot be seen.
Smith witnesses his first victim of the scarlet plague while teaching when a young woman's face turns scarlet. She dies quickly, and a panic soon overtakes the campus. He returns home, but his family refuses to join him because they fear he is infected. Soon, an epidemic overtakes the area and residents begin rioting and killing one another. Smith meets with colleagues at his college's chemistry building, where they hope to wait out the problem. They soon realize they must move elsewhere for safety and begin trekking northward.
Shortly, Smith's entire party dies out and he is left as the sole survivor. He lives for three years on his own with the company of a pony and two dogs. Eventually, his need for social interaction compels him back to the San Francisco area in search of other people. He finally discovers a sort of new society has been created with a few survivors, who have broken into tribes.
Smith worries that he is the last to remember the times before the plague. He reminisces about the quality of food, social classes, his job, and technology. As he realizes his time grows short, he tries to impart the value of knowledge and wisdom to his grandsons. His efforts are in vain, however, as the children ridicule his recollections of the past, which sound totally unbelievable to them.
Book Details
Author
Jack London
United States
John Griffith London was an American novelist, journalist, and social activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an internatio...
More on Jack LondonDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe
A Journal of the Plague Year is a book by Daniel Defoe, first published in March 1722. It is an account of one man's experiences of the year 1665, in...
The Poison Belt by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Poison Belt is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, the second book about Professor Challenger. Written in 1913, much of...
Pillar of Fire by Ray Bradbury
The story explores the idea of a society that has rejected creativity, imagination, and the unknown. In "Pillar of Fire," Bradbury paints a bleak pic...
Wildwood Ways by Winthrop Packard
It tells the story of a young boy named Andy, who ventures into the deep woods in search of adventure and self-discovery. This coming-of-age story was...
Star Ship by Poul William Anderson
The strangest space-castaways of all! The Terrans left their great interstellar ship unmanned in a tight orbit around Khazak—descended, all of them, i...
Terror Out of Space by Leigh Brackett
In the wake of unexpected meteor activity, a wave of inexplicable madness sweeps the already strange and ill-charted world of Venus. Racing to locate...
A Voyage to the Moon by Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano attempts to reach the Moon to prove there is a civilization that sees the Earth as its own moon. He launches himself into the sky from Paris by...
The Bright Messenger by Algernon Blackwood
Julian LeVallon, born and raised alone in the Jura Mountains, is referred to psychiatrist Dr. Edward Fillery for care in London. But is LeVallon merel...
The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen by Elizabeth von Arnim
This is a captivating novel that transports readers to the picturesque island of Rügen, where the protagonist, Elizabeth, embarks on a remarkable jour...
A Story of the Days to Come by H. G. Wells
A wealthy heiress falls in love with a middle-class worker of romantically quaint disposition. In part one, the woman's father hires a hypnotist to pr...
Reviews for The Scarlet Plague
No reviews posted or approved, yet...