Background
During an inventory of the Jack London collection an uncatalogued file folder containing 42 pages of correspondence between Max Goodman, a Philadelphia pharmacist, and Charmian London were discovered. The correspondence was a 1976 gift to the library from Milo Sheperd, grand-nephew of Jack London and grandson of Eliza London Sheperd. These letters reveal information about Charmian which has not been reported by her biographers. Charmian was 61 and a widow when the correspondence began and Goodman was 25 and single.
The first letter from Max Goodman is a fan letter in which he expresses his appreciation for Jack London’s writing and his two-volume biography authored by Charmian. The letters detail the economic and political situation in the 1930s. Charmian writes about her need to earn money to buy feed for the Glen Ellen ranch cattle, illness and a serious horse-riding accident that occurred in August 1934. She tells of how three Jack London novels were banned by the Nazis and burned in a bonfire. In Goodman’s final letter to Charmian dated March 13, 1935, he writes about his job search, disillusionment with President Roosevelt and the National Recovery Administration and how he had met the love of his life, Cecelia, who he planned to marry.
Collection
A folder containing 14 original letters - eight handwritten by Max Goodman, five typed by Charmian London and one typed letter from James Henle, president of The Vanguard Press, to Max Goodman.
Access
The research material in the collection is available to view by appointment.
