The Coral Island

R. Ballantyne

Jun 1994 · Penguin UK

About this ebook

When the three sailor lads, Ralph, Jack and Peterkin are cast ashore after the storm, their first task is to find out whether the island is inhabited. Their next task is to find a way of staying alive. They go hunting and learn to fish, expore underwater caves and build boats - but then their island paradise is rudely disturbed by the arrival of pirates.

Ratings and reviews

Did not realize that this version of the original classic would be abridged shying away from the description of the more brutal barbaric atrocities committed by the natives and so resulting in a somewhat sanitized safe version. Disappointing. In future tell it like it was. Children will cope with it. I did when I read it 50 years ago at 12.

About the author

Robert Michael Ballantyne was born in Scotland in 1825. As a young man he went to Canada to work as a clerk with the Hudson Bay Fur Company. His experiences gave him lots of ideas for his career as a writer, artist and lecturer when he returned to Scotland. His best known for his novel The Coral Island which has remained in print since its first publication in 1857. He died in 1894.