In the early days of the 20th century Jack London was one of the most famous authors in the world. When “Call of the Wild” came out, he became an almost instant celebrity. Sadly this happened just as he was divorcing his first wife, and his two young daughters, Joan and Becky, felt the pain in many ways. Mostly they just did not get to spend as much time with the father they loved so much. Of course Jack was as interesting a person as he was a writer, and now much of his life is being retold by younger generations of the family. We got to spend a morning in Richmond, California with his Great Granddaughter Tarnel Abbott.

You might call her literally royalty, but she will tell you she’s just a normal person with a famous ancestor. Yet talking to her, you sense Jack in her personality. And you begin to understand how he continues to capture the imagination of readers around the world even today — more than a century after he died. In her own words — here is Tarnel Abbott on Jack London.