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The “Survivor” reality TV show series was based on a 1997 Swedish TV series called “Expedition Robinson.” The name of the original Swedish show was obviously taken from the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1661 to 1731). I have never had any interest in watching the “Survivor” show or any of their spinoffs. However, I do enjoy stories of survival by castaways on deserted islands that also contain the theme of building a civilization and resisting evil. The old saying “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” holds in that the theme of Robinson Crusoe has been used many times since it was written, including James Fenimore Cooper’s The Crater, Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss, The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne, and the book that is reviewed here, The Coral Island, by R.M. Ballantyne. One should note that these novels are all wonderful stories, filled with hard-earned wisdom, ingenuity, bravery, and endurance, but what makes them special is their heroes’ spiritual depth and resistance to the evil of external opponents.
Robert Michael (R.M.) Ballantyne was a Scottish author who wrote mainly in the second half of the 19th century. His father and other relatives worked in the family printing/publishing firm of Ballantyne and Company, who printed many of the books of Sir Walter Scott, among others. At age 16, he went to Canada and worked for five years in the fur trade in the deep forests, which gave him a basis for his later books, which he always tried to base on the real-life experience of himself or others. He returned home and became a successful writer, with about 100 titles credited to him, mainly adventure stories in far places and/or times. He was married and he and his wife had six children. Ballantyne was a sincere Christian. His characters and novels have profound spiritual depth, along with great writing and fascinating plots.
The Coral Island is perhaps his best-known work but any story by him is worth reading. The story of The Coral Island is narrated by one of the three boys (Roger), who is marooned on a desert island along with Jack and Peterkin. Their adventures in trying to survive and build a life for themselves is fascinating by itself. However, they become involved in resisting cannibals (there were real cannibal tribes in the Pacific islands at that time) and evil pirates. That action is very exciting.
The Coral Island is, in a way, the polar opposite of another well-known novel, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. In Golding’s book, a group of English school-age boys are marooned on a desert island. Without any spiritual depth to the boys, their society quickly devolves into savagery. In Ballantyne’s book, the spiritual depth of the boys keeps their small “civilization” and internal integrity on a high Christian plane and also gives them a real basis upon which to resist external evil. Owing to the extreme popularity of The Coral Island over many years in Great Britain, there is not much doubt that Golding knew this book and deliberately wrote a story of what would happen without spiritual depth in his characters. The Lord of the Flies is a great book but is depressing. The Coral Island is just as great a book but its story is uplifting – it should be listed as one of the classics that no child should miss.
One last note: Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of that great classic, Treasure Island, loved Ballantyne’ books. In the poetical preface to Treasure Island, Stevenson renders homage to W.H. Kingston (another author not to be missed), James Fenimore Cooper, and R.M. Ballantyne, calling him “Ballantyne the brave!”