The Coral Island (Valancourt C

Three teenage boys, the sole survivors of a shipwreck, find themselves marooned on a deserted island in the South Pacific. With little more than a telescope and a broken knife, the youths must find food and shelter and learn to survive. But though the coral island is a tropical paradise, full of natural beauty and exotic fruits and wildlife, dangers and adventures abound: sharks, pirates, and even bloodthirsty cannibals!

Scottish-born R.M. Ballantyne (1825-1894) wrote more than ninety books for young people during the Victorian era, the most famous of which is The Coral Island (1857), a tale whose popularity has proved so enduring that it has never been out of print. A thrilling story in the tradition of Robinson Crusoe and a key influence on later classics such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and William Golding's Lord of the Flies, The Coral Island is presented here in a new scholarly edition that includes the unabridged text of the first British edition, along with a new introduction and notes by Ralph Crane and Lisa Fletcher.

The Coral Island, published in 1858 and one of his earliest books, is his best memorial today. It is a retelling of the potent myth of the castaway. Three young sailors, sole survivors of a wreck, discover the enchanting beauty of the South Pacific and learn to hunt and fish, and to build a shelter.