R. M Ballantyne

Adventure and peril abound in a classic tale of shipwreck and survivalRalph, Jack, and Peterkin find themselves the sole survivors of a shipwreck on a deserted coral island in the South Pacific. Although fate has led them to temporary safety, the three marooned boys are forced to carve out a life for themselves from what nature provides. They rapidly learn which fruit to eat, which animals to hunt, and which lagoons are best for bathing. Resourceful...

Excerpt: "This tale, reader-if you read it through-will give you some insight into the condition, value, and vicissitudes of the light-vessels, or floating lighthouses, which guard the shores of this kingdom, and mark the dangerous shoals lying off some of our harbor's and roadsteads. It will also convey to you-if you don't skip-a general idea of the life and adventures of some of the men who have manned these interesting and curious craft in time...

The Pirate City is a story about the Algerian pirates who were the scourge of the Mediterranean sea during the early to mid-1800s. They would plunder the ships of other sovereign nations, and as a result were a wealthy little city-state until their demise in the Barbary War. In this tale, set during the heyday of the pirates, a merchant and his sons Mariano and Lucien are captured aboard their trading vessel and taken as prisoners to the pirate capital...

(Excerpt): "Ailie had been nearly thrown out of her berth when the ship lay over, and now when she listened to the water hissing and gurgling past the little port that lighted her cabin, and felt the staggering of the vessel. As burst after burst of the hurricane almost tore the masts out of her, she lay trembling with anxiety and debating with herself whether or not she ought to rise and go on deck."

Hunting the Lions by R. M. Ballantyne is a novel that tells the story of a group of British explorers who are in Africa on a hunting expedition. The group is comprised of a number of different individuals, each with their own motivations and goals. As they journey through the jungle, they face many challenges and obstacles, including dangerous animals, hostile natives, and harsh weather conditions.

(Excerpt): "A solitary horseman-a youth in early manhood-riding at a snail's pace over the great plains, or karroo, of South Africa. His chin on his breast; his hands in the pockets of an old shooting-coat; his legs in ragged trousers, and his feet in worn-out boots. Regardless of stirrups, the last are dangling. The reins hang on the neck of his steed, whose head may be said to dangle from its shoulders, so nearly does its nose approach the ground....

(Excerpt): "It is evident that the land over there is peopled with savages who, probably, never saw white men before. If we treat these young fellows kindly, and send them away with gifts in their hands, we shall, no doubt, make friends of the savages. If we treat them ill, or kill them, their relations will come over, mayhap in swarms, and drive us into the sea. I drop the Swinton law of might being right, and ask you who are now the law-makers --...

Story of Captain James Cook of the British Navy and his explorations of the South Seas including Tahiti around 1760. Ballantype called some of the islands the Cannibal Islands due to reports of cannibalism. This short book contains some discussions of things like breadfruit, and how it was prepared. Captain Cook's arrival was to essentially to stone age societies, that did not have iron or copper or brass or the other industrial metals. Theft was...

Published three years after his phenomenally successful "The Coral Island", ""The Gorilla Hunters" finds Ballantyne bringing back three friends from previous novel but this time they are grown up men and instead of Pacific, the story is set somewhere in Africa.

Excerpt: "Though our foe cannot be slain, he can, like the genii of Eastern story, be baffled. In the days of old, the Storm had it nearly all his own way. Hearts, indeed, were not less brave, but munitions of war were wanting. In this matter, as in everything else, the world is better off now than it was then. Our weapons are more perfect, our engines more formidable. We can now dash at our enemy in the very heart of his own terrible strongholds;...