Book Description:
The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne is a classic Victorian adventure novel that follows three British boys — Ralph, Jack, and Peterkin — who are shipwrecked on a remote Pacific island. At first, the island appears to be a paradise, and the boys use their resourcefulness and teamwork to survive, exploring the landscape and building a new life for themselves.
However, their idyllic existence is soon disrupted by encounters with pirates, cannibals, and other dangers that test their courage, morality, and friendship. The novel contrasts innocence and savagery, civilization and wilderness, often reflecting the colonial attitudes of its time.
First published in 1858, The Coral Island was immensely popular in its day and served as inspiration for later works, most notably William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, which intentionally subverted its themes. Ballantyne’s novel remains an influential work in the adventure genre and a window into 19th-century British imperial values and ideals of boyhood heroism.
