Martin Eden

A partly autobiographical novel about a young sailor from the Oakland working class who falls for Ruth, a refined middle-class student, and resolves to educate himself and become a writer. He reads voraciously, writes relentlessly and endures poverty and rejection. As his ambition grows, he begins to question the values of the society he wants to enter. The book is a portrait of self-making, class, love and the cost of success, and it is often seen as London's most personal novel.