The Scarlet Plague

Jack London's 1912 post-apocalyptic novella has an old man tell his grandsons how a plague destroyed civilisation in 2013.

Author

Jack London

First published

1912

Setting

Future California, set in 2073

Genre

Post-apocalyptic novella

Read it if you like

Short, haunting post-apocalyptic fiction.

Overview

In 2073, an old man living on the ruined California coast tells his grandsons about the “Scarlet Death” of 2013, a plague that killed most of humanity within weeks. He describes the collapse of society and the survivors' struggle.

Themes

• Collapse of civilisation
• Memory and knowledge
• Disease

Background

Published in London Magazine in 1912, the story belongs to the early 20th-century tradition of apocalyptic fiction and is often cited alongside later post-apocalyptic novels.

Why it endures

It is short, direct and still easy to read, and it asks what knowledge survives when institutions fail.

Quotes