The Coral Island A Tale Of The Pacific Ocean

Three boys, fifteen-year-old Ralph Rover (the narrator), eighteen-year-old Jack Martin and fourteen-year-old Peterkin Gay, are the sole survivors of a shipwreck on the coral reef of a large but uninhabited Polynesian island. At first their life on the island is idyllic; food, in the shape of fruits, fish and wild pigs, is plentiful, and using their only possessions; a broken telescope, an iron-bound oar and a small axe, they fashion a shelter and even construct a small boat. Their first contact with other people comes after several months when they observe two large outrigger canoes land on the beach. The two groups are engaged in battle and the three boys intervene to successfully defeat the attacking party, earning the gratitude of the chief Tararo. The Polynesians leave and the three boys are alone once more. Then more unwelcome visitors arrive in the shape of pirates, who make a living trading, or stealing, sandalwood. The three boys conceal themselves in a hidden cave, but Ralph is captured when he sets out to see if the pirates have left, and is taken aboard the pirate schooner. Ralph strikes up an unexpected friendship with one of the pirates, "Bloody Bill", and when they call at an island to trade for more wood he meets Tararo again. On the island he sees all facets of island life, including the popular sport of surfing, as well as the practice of infanticide and cannibalism. Rising tension leads to an attack by the inhabitants on the pirates, leaving only Ralph alive and Bloody Bill mortally wounded. However they manage to make their escape in the schooner. After Bill dies, making a death-bed repentance for his evil life, Ralph manages to sail back to the Coral Island to be re-united with his friends.

When three boys find themselves shipwrecked on a South Pacific Island, they must learn to survive in a sometimes beautiful, sometimes deadly new world. A classic tale of high adventure and boyhood courage.

First published in 1857, ‘The Coral Island’ is one of Scottish author R.M. Ballantyne’s best-loved children’s books. When the good ship ‘Arrow’ is wrecked in the Pacific Ocean, the sole survivors are three young friends: Jack, Ralph, and Peterkin. Washed up on the shore of an unfamiliar island paradise, the boys must learn quickly in order to survive. There are plenty of twists and turns ahead in this classic adventure story, which is packed full of danger and excitement. An instant success upon publication, ‘The Coral Island’ was the inspiration behind famous author Robert Louis Stevenson’s later adventure tale ‘Treasure Island’. R.M. Ballantyne (1825-1894) was a Scottish artist and prolific author of mostly children’s fiction. Born in Edinburgh, Ballantyne was the ninth of ten children. At the age of 16 Ballantyne moved to Canada, where he worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company, travelling all over the country to trade for fur. He returned to Scotland in 1847 following the death of his father, and it was then that he began his literary career in earnest, writing over 100 children’s adventure books over the course of his life. Stories such as ‘The Coral Island’ and ‘The Young Fur Traders’ were hugely popular, and many of them drew on his own experiences of travelling throughout Canada. A stickler for detail, Ballantyne continued to travel widely to research the backgrounds and settings for his exciting stories. His tales became an inspiration for authors of the future, including ‘Treasure Island’ novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. Ballantyne spent the latter period of his life living in London and Italy for the sake of his health. He died in Rome in 1894 at the age of 68.

Reproduction of the original.

The Coral Island: A Tale of the Pacific Ocean relates the adventures of three boys marooned on a South Pacific island. The story is told from the perspective of 15-year-old Ralph Rover, one of three boys shipwrecked on the coral reef of a large but uninhabited Polynesian island. Ralph and his two companions – 18-year-old Jack Martin and 13-year-old Peterkin Gay – are the sole survivors of the shipwreck. At first, boys have to manage how to feed themselves, what to drink, and how the resolve clothing and shelter, coping with having to rely on their own resources. As the boys adopt to the situation, they start dealing with new difficulties, such as conflicting with pirates, fighting with native Polynesians, and dealing with Christian missionaries and their conversion efforts.