The Star Rover (published in England as The Jacket) was published by Macmillan in 1915. Darrell Standing, a former university professor, is imprisoned in San Quentin for murder. Subjected to the torture of prolonged confinement in a straitjacket (a practice that was actually used in California prisons at the time), Standing discovers that by surrendering to the pain and “dying” in the jacket, he can project his consciousness into past lives.
The past-life episodes span human history: Standing lives as a Roman legionary, a medieval knight, a castaway sailor, a Viking, a boy in the American West during the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Each episode is complete and vivid — London’s ability to render physical reality in different historical settings is remarkable — and together they constitute Standing’s proof that consciousness is indestructible: the body can be tormented and killed, but the spirit persists across lives.
The novel is unique in London’s work: it is his most explicitly metaphysical statement, moving beyond the materialism that characterized his earlier fiction. Whether this represents a genuine shift in London’s philosophy (toward some form of spiritual conviction) or merely the exploitation of a good narrative device is debated. The prison-reform dimension — the detailed, factual account of straitjacket torture — was effective: the practice was curtailed partly as a result of public attention the novel drew to it.
Collecting The Star Rover
First edition (Macmillan, New York, 1915): Cloth with dust jacket (very scarce in jacket).
Market values:
- First edition, fine: $300–$800
- Very good: $100–$300
- With dust jacket: $1,500+
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation.
Astral Projection in Prison
The Star Rover (1915, published in the UK as The Jacket) is London’s most unusual novel — the story of Darrell Standing, a prisoner in San Quentin subjected to prolonged torture in a straitjacket, who learns to separate his consciousness from his body and travel through his past lives. Standing relives incarnations as a Roman legionnaire, a medieval swordsman, a Viking, a castaway, and a frontier boy during the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The novel is based on the real experiences of Ed Morrell, a prisoner London befriended, and its critique of the prison system is fierce. It is London’s most visionary and least typical work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this science fiction? It occupies a strange borderland between science fiction, historical fiction, and prison memoir. The past-life sequences are presented as real experiences, not hallucinations, giving the novel a metaphysical dimension absent from London’s other work.