Rex Beach

Rex Beach attended Rollins College in Florida and then law school at the Chicago College of Law and the Kent College of Law. He practiced only briefly as a lawyer, moving to Alaska where he prospected for gold. He then turned to writing. His first novel, The Spoilers, was based on his true experiences from his prospecting in Nome. Throughout the early 1900s, his adventure novels were very popular and made him a wealthy man. He wrote over 30 novels, and over 15 of the books were adapted into movies. Beach was a big influence on Jack London and Beach was termed the “Victor Hugo of the North.” He and his wife settled in Florida, and two years after her death, Beach took his own life.