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A pearl promises a family a home, but who gets to decide what their treasure is worth?
In South Sea Tales, Jack London gathers eight adventures across a Pacific shaped by storms, trade, and colonial power. In The House of Mapuhi, an islander wants a house for his family in exchange for a valuable pearl. The traders have other ideas. In The Whale Tooth, a missionary in Fiji faces a dangerous meeting of religious conviction and local custom.
Mauki follows an islander through the brutality of plantation labor, while The Heathen centers on Otoo and a white trader whose friendship begins in disaster. The Terrible Solomons and The Inevitable White Man challenge assumptions of white superiority. In The Seed of McCoy, burning cargo threatens a ship, and a calm guide brings knowledge that courage alone cannot supply.
What you’ll discover
- A pearl with stakes Follow Mapuhi’s hope for a family home into a struggle over value and power.
- Loyalty born of danger Meet Otoo, whose intelligence and practical courage give a lasting friendship its strength.
- The cost of command See how trade, weapons, and forced labor shape encounters between island communities and outsiders.
- Confidence meets its limits Watch claims of superiority collide with dangers that demand understanding rather than boasts.
- Judgment under pressure Step aboard a threatened ship where McCoy’s steady guidance matters as much as endurance.
Who will love it
Readers who love sea adventures, storms, island trading posts and sharp irony will find a home here, as will anyone curious about the Pacific of a century ago.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A pearl becomes a family dream
- Faith walks toward a hidden bargain
- Debt keeps Mauki in captivity
- Remembered terror keeps a trader powerful
- Shared danger begins a lasting bond
- Loud bravery turns into real fear
- One skill can outweigh general competence
- Gentleness holds a frightened crew together
- Power depends on habits of obedience
Who’s who
- MapuhiA pearl diver of Hikueru who finds a perfect pearl and wants only a house with an iron roof and a clock.
- NauriMapuhi's mother, tough and nearly sixty, who fights to survive the hurricane and holds fast to the dream of the house.
- John StarhurstA calm, sincere missionary in Fiji who is determined to carry the gospel into the cannibal mountains.
- MaukiA chief's son from Malaita, stolen as a child and bound to plantation labor, who wants only to go home.
- OtooA strong, gentle Bora Bora sailor called a heathen, who becomes the narrator's loyal brother and guardian.
- Bertie ArkwrightA sensitive, handsome traveler who wants to see life red and bleeding in the Solomons and gets more than he bargained for.
- McCoyThe soft-voiced governor of Pitcairn, great-grandson of a Bounty mutineer, who offers to guide a burning ship to a safe harbor.
- Captain DavenportThe exhausted master of the burning Pyrenees, who wants any beach where he can save his ship and crew.
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South Sea Tales
by Jack London · 1911
A hurricane sweeps a coral ring while a pearl as big as a pigeon's egg sets a family dreaming of a house.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“A gun is always loaded.”
In short
What would you give up for a perfect pearl? In the first story of this book, a diver named Mapuhi asks for no money at all.
South Sea Tales at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 20 min2 h 40 min fast, 4 h slow
- Length
- 48,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1911by Jack London
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Pearl Sets a Family Dreaming of a House
On Hikueru, a ring of coral only a few feet above the tide, the diver Mapuhi finds a pearl as large as a pigeon's egg. Word travels fast, and every buyer comes.
Mapuhi will not name a price in money. He wants a house with a galvanized iron roof, a porch all around, four bedrooms and a clock on the wall. Raoul, the young supercargo, laughs and offers cash, while Mapuhi and his family shake their heads at once.
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Which edition is right for me
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Details
- First published
- 1911
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 3 h 45 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
London, Jack. South Sea Tales. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/south-sea-tales.
London, J. (2026). South Sea tales. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/south-sea-tales (Original work published 1911)
London, Jack. South Sea Tales. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/south-sea-tales.
@book{london2026south,
author = {London, Jack},
title = {South Sea Tales},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/south-sea-tales},
note = {First published 1911}
}
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What is South Sea Tales about?
It is a collection of eight adventure stories by Jack London set among Pacific islands. They follow pearl divers, missionaries, traders, labor recruiters, sailors and island governors, and ask who holds power and how people survive storms, debt and danger.
Which stories are in South Sea Tales?
The eight stories are The House of Mapuhi, The Whale Tooth, Mauki, Yah! Yah! Yah!, The Heathen, The Terrible Solomons, The Inevitable White Man and The Seed of McCoy. Each stands alone and can be read in any order.
Who is Otoo in The Heathen?
Otoo is a Bora Bora sailor whom a ship's captain calls a heathen. He shares a hatch cover with the narrator after a hurricane, exchanges names with him and stays at his side for seventeen years as guardian and friend.
The author
Jack London
1876–1916 · American novelist and journalist
Jack London (1876–1916) was an American author, journalist and social activist. He was born in San Francisco and lived in California. He wrote novels, short stories and essays. His novels include The Call of the Wild (1903), The Sea-Wolf (1904), White Fang (1906) and Martin Eden (1909). He died in California.
“A gun is always loaded.”
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