The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Island Home, by Richard Archer

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Title: The Island Home

Author: Richard Archer

Illustrator: Dalziel

Release Date: October 20, 2007 [EBook #23117]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ISLAND HOME ***

Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

The Island Home, the Adventures of six Young Crusoes, by Richard Archer.

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This book should be a bit more of a classic than it actually is. It is
thought that Ballantyne used it as the inspiration for his famous "The
Coral Island", for there is good evidence for it. In the 1830s the
Washington left New York, the passengers including some of the young
members of the owners' families and some of their friends. Destination
Canton via the Straits of Magellan. Crossing the Pacific, they land on
various of the islands, such as those in the Fiji and Kingsmill Groups.
Sometimes they encountered particularly nasty inhabitants. One day they
were on the beach of an island, when it became necessary for the
Washington to up anchors and away, leaving the shore party with the
ship's boat. Murders occur among the seamen. The boys set sail in the
boat, hoping to regain contact with some vessel, but never do.

The rest of the book is a story of survival, and of the good humour of
the boys. The real problem with the book is the long paragraphs of
description which nowadays would be much shorter or omitted altogether,
but it was written in the 1850s, and it was Ballantyne's luck that he
was able to write a book along the same lines but far easier to read.

Still, it's worth a quick skim, if nothing more. Your reviewer has
listened to the book several times, and enjoyed it each time.

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THE ISLAND HOME, THE ADVENTURES OF SIX YOUNG CRUSOES, BY RICHARD ARCHER.

CHAPTER ONE.

INTRODUCTION.

"A wet sheet and a flowing sea,
A breeze that follows fast,
That fills the white and rustling sail,
And bends the gallant mast.
And bends the gallant mast, my boys,
Our go