Martin Eden

A rough young sailor named Martin Eden falls in love with Ruth Morse, a refined girl from a comfortable family, and resolves to make himself worthy of her by becoming a writer. He reads and works with ferocious will, dragging himself out of poverty through sheer effort, but the success he finally wins tastes like ash. The same world that scorned him while he was unknown now flatters him, and Martin can no longer believe in any of it. London poured much of his own struggle into this bitter, semi-autobiographical novel, which he later said should be read as a warning against the individualism its hero embodies. Free PDF and EPUB editions of this American classic are available to download.