Captain Alex MacLean
HISTORY / BIOGRAPHY
Jack London’s Sea Wolf
Don MacGillivray
Alex MacLean was a sailor and sealer, originally from Cape Breton,
who was the inspiration for the title character Wolf Larsen in
Jack London’s best-selling novel, The Sea-Wolf. When he was just
21, MacLean sailed to the Pacific side of North America, where
he operated for 35 years. He was a skilful sailor and a colourful
individual whose achievements and escapades while in the
Victoria pelagic fleet in the 1880s laid the foundation for his status
as a folk hero.
Captain Alex MacLean: Jack London’s Sea Wolf is not only the story
of this fascinating character and the construction of his legend.
MacLean’s biography opens a new window into the complex world
of pelagic sealing in the North Pacific. The sealing dispute brought
the United States and Britain to the brink of war, with Canadian
sealing interests frequently enmeshed in webs of espionage,
scientific debate, diplomatic negotiations, and vexing questions of
maritime and environmental law.
MacLean’s story will appeal to maritime historians, historians
of the Pacific Northwest, and readers interested in the history of
sealing, international relations, and environmental politics. It will
also appeal to readers interested in this fascinating character, both
in his own right and as mythologized by Jack London.
Don MacGillivray is a professor of history at Cape Breton
University and a local Big Pond Resident.
Maritime History | Biography
NEW HARDCOVER
May 2008, 416 pages, 11 b/w photos, 6 x 9”
978-0-7748-1471-3 HC CAD 85.00 / USD 98.00
PAPERBACK VERSION NOW AVAILABLE....ONLY $29.95! Get your copy!
For more information on ordering a copy of this book visit The UBC Press Website
HERE.
This book can be found on their website under the Catalogues, Spring 2008.
