The Coral Island: A Tale of the Pacific Ocean
1857
Fifteen-year-old Ralph Rover has sea in his veins and adventure in his heart. When he convinces his two friends to board the ship Arrow bound for the South Seas, he imagines paradise: palm-fringed islands, pearl-dotted lagoons, and wonders beyond counting. Alongside the steady Jack Martin and the quick-witted Peterkin Gay, Ralph finds exactly what he dreamed of, and far more than he bargained for. A storm dashes their vessel onto a coral reef, and the boys wash ashore on an island of staggering beauty, where fish glow like living jewels and fruit hangs heavy from every branch. For a time, they flourish: building shelters, learning the island's secrets, basking in their freedom from the civilized world. Then the canoe appears on the horizon, carrying cannibals. Then the black sails of a pirate ship. Each threat strips away another layer of innocence, forcing three boys to find reserves of courage they never knew they possessed. Written in 1857, this is the grandfather of the desert island adventure, the raw prototype that would inspire Treasure Island and countless survival tales to follow.
