The Game

Published in 1905 by MacMillan, The Game is a short novella about a young boxer, Joe Fleming, who ordinarily works as a sail maker. When he becomes engaged to Genevieve, the narrator, he decides to take one more fight before giving up. He persuades Genevieve to watch and her viewpoint as a narrator provides London with the opportunity to describe, in excruciating detail, the fight that ensues. It's clear from this description that London knew his business, but it's also obvious that he wasn't taken in by the glamour. The game, like any London Klondike story, is a brutal piece of writing.