JOHN BARLEYCORN

When it first appeared in 1913, John Barleycorn was an immediate sensation. America's most famous author, the creator of The Sea Wolf and The Call of the Wild, had confessed to a lifelong struggle with alcohol. Temperance advocates used John Barleycorn in the push for prohibition; liquor companies denounced it; a popular movie was made of it; ministers cited it in sermons. More comments by London scholar Dr. Clarice Stasz [read]