The Valley of the Moon

Jack London traded the frozen North of his best-known books for the working-class streets of Oakland in this novel about a young couple worn down by industrial life. Billy and Saxon Roberts marry with high hopes, but strikes, brutality, and poverty grind away their happiness in the city. Refusing to accept defeat, they set out on foot across California in search of good land and a life they can build for themselves, eventually finding it in the Sonoma country London loved. Part social protest and part back-to-the-land dream, the book reflects the author’s own retreat to a Sonoma ranch. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available to download.