Five on a Treasure Island
Five
on a Treasure Island
(published in 1942) is a popular children's book by Enid
Blyton. It is the first book in The Famous Five
series. The first edition of the book was
illustrated by Eileen Soper.
Background
It
has been suggested that the book was influenced by L.
T. Meade's 1892 book Four on an Island,
which also recounts a story of four related children including a tomboy along with a dog living on an island with a shipwreck.[1]
Plot
When
siblings Julian, Dick and Anne cannot go for their usual summer holiday to Polseath, they are invited to spend the summer with their Aunt Fanny
and Uncle Quentin at their home Kirrin Cottage, in the coastal village of
Kirrin. They also meet their cousin Georgina, a surly, difficult girl, who
tries hard to live like a boy and only answers to the name George. Despite an
uncomfortable start, the cousins become firm friends and George introduces them
to her beloved dog Timothy (Timmy), who secretly lives with a fisher boy in the
village as George's parents will not allow her to keep Timmy.
On
their way to Kirrin Island, George shows her cousins a shipwreck, explaining it
was her great-great-great grandfather's ship. He had been transporting gold
when the ship was wrecked in a storm, but despite divers investigating the
wreck, the gold was never found. After visiting the wreck, the five arrive on
the Island and are exploring the ruined castle when a huge storm blows up,
making it too dangerous for them to return to the mainland. While they take
shelter on the island, the sea throws up the old shipwreck, grounding it on the
rocks surrounding the island. Excited by these developments, they decide to
come back at dawn the next day to investigate the wreck before it is
discovered.
The
following day, the five visit the wreck and discover the captain's cabin, where
they find some objects belonging to George's great-great-great grandfather,
including an old box which they take back to Kirrin Cottage. The box proves
difficult to open, so they throw it from the highest window of the house. The
box breaks open, but the noise disturbs Uncle Quentin who confiscates the box.
Not willing to give up their quest, Julian sneaks into Uncle Quentin's study
and takes the box, which contains an old map of Kirrin Castle. The children
realise it is a treasure map showing the location of the lost gold. After
making a tracing of the map and returning the box, they decide to find the gold
themselves.
To
the children's shock, the box containing the map is sold to an antique
collector. The same man also makes an offer to buy Kirrin Island. The children
realise he has unearthed the secret map and wants the gold for himself, and so
begins a race for the five to get to the gold first. Thinking the children want
to spend time at the island before it is sold, Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny
allow them to go camping there.
Arriving
on the island, the five start searching the castle ruins to locate the old
dungeons where the gold is hidden. Chasing a rabbit, Timmy falls down an old
well, from where the children find the dungeon entrance. Exploring underground,
they find the gold in a locked vault. Trouble soon arrives, as bad men come to
the island hoping to steal the gold. They capture George and Julian, locking
them in the dungeons. Unable to find Anne and Dick, they leave the island, taking
the oars from the children's boat so they cannot escape. Anne and Dick use the
well shaft to rescue Julian and George from the dungeon, and the children hatch
a plan to trap the men when they come back to the island with a boat to steal
the gold.
Although
the plan goes wrong, they manage to leave the men stranded on Kirrin Island.
They return to the mainland to tell Uncle Quentin, Aunt Fanny and the police
what has happened. The gold is recovered and it is decided that it legally
belongs to George's family, making them rich and enabling them to afford
everything they have ever wanted. George's only wish is to be allowed to keep
Timmy, and her parents agree. George also agrees to go to boarding school with
Anne, because she and her cousins have become very good friends.
Film adaptations
Main article: Five on a Treasure
Island (film)
An
8-part Children's Film Foundation film serial
was produced in 1957, directed by Gerald Landau.[2]
In
early 2010, rumours appeared that there might be a Five on a Treasure Island
film to be released in 2012. On 31 May those rumours were confirmed by film
maker Sam Mendes
on an interview about the upcoming Skyfall. Mendes stated, "A script is under way and is hoped to
be in cinemas Spring 2012." Progress on the film was stopped when MGM went bankrupt later in the year.[citation needed]
Miscellaneous
- In 1992, Fabbri published Five on a Treasure Island as No.50.
References
· Liam Heneghan (13 June 2016). "Did
the Famous Five come from Cork?".
Irish Times.
Retrieved 13 June 2016.
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