The Night-Born contains ten short stories by Jack London, first published together as a collection in 1913. These writings take place in diverse settings and belong to various genres. The quality of the selections ranges considerably as well. The title comes from a quote by Thoreau which figures prominently in the book's first story, also entitled "The Night-Born," in which a woman relates her epic odyssey in the wilds of the North, fueled by the innate and irresistible wanderlust within her. This particular tale is not an exceptional example of London's work, but it satisfies.

Jack London (born John Griffith Chaney, January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1923) was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone. Some of his most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush. He also wrote of the South Pacific in such stories as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen", and of the San Francisco Bay area in The Sea Wolf. London was a passionate advocate of unionization, socialism, and the rights of workers. He wrote several powerful works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, and The War of the Classes.