As many Webb readers prepare for time at the beach this summer, here are 15 “island books” for sunny seaside reads.
But keep in mind: Not every island is hot — or empty!
Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe) – The granddaddy of all stranded-man tales, Defoe’s 1719 tome — with shipwreck, cannibals, mutineers, religious conversion and of course, the helpful “Man Friday” — has achieved almost mythic status. Also worthy: Diana Souhami’s Selkirk’s Island — story of the real-life islander who inspired Defoe’s novel.
Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O’Dell) – Based on the true story of a preteen girl marooned for years on an island off California, this slender, gem-like tale won the Newbery Award in 1961. A virtually perfect book.
Appleby on Ararat (Michael Innes) – Early entry in Innes’s five-decade series of witty and distinguished mysteries focused on Sir John Appleby of Scotland Yard. In this 1941 winner, Appleby and several shipwreck survivors wash up on a remote island and soon discover they aren’t alone.
Endurance (Alfred Lansing) – Though only part of it occurs on an isolated isle, here at least is one island tale that’s cold cold COLD. The true story of Ernest Shackleton’s unsuccessful bid to reach the South Pole in 1914, it climaxes with a 920-mile trip in an open boat across what is probably the fiercest stretch of ocean on the planet. Absolutely incredible — and inspiring.
Summer of ’69 (Elin Hilderbrand) – The so-called “queen of beach reads” — who spoke at Williamsport’s Brown Library in 2022 — Hilderbrand has penned more than 25 books, nearly all set on Nantucket Island. This engaging page-turner chronicles one tumultuous family during an equally tumultuous summer that saw both Chappaquiddick and Apollo XI.
Black Widow (Randy Wayne White) – The popular White is best known for his page-turning thrillers featuring retired NSA agent Marion “Doc” Ford — most of which are set around Florida’s Sanibel Island. Blending savvy ecology, salty atmosphere and sizzling suspense, they’ve been labeled “the thinking-man’s action novel.” In Black Widow, Doc travels to the Windward Islands, where he goes up against killers, blackmailers and the titular “voodoo queen.”
Lord of the Flies (William Golding) – Standard fare in high-school classrooms, Golding’s 1954 story of stranded schoolboys fighting for survival is exotic, thrilling, beautifully written and rich in symbolism. Flies fans should also seek out Golding’s Pincher Martin, in which one man is marooned on a tiny, ocean-bound patch of rock.
The Coral Island (R. M. Ballantyne) – Delightful Victorian-era tale of three teenage boys and their exploits on an Edenic isle. The later Lord of the Flies is clearly a “revisionist” take on Ballantyne (Golding even borrows the characters’ names), and readers who find Flies too depressing should grab this buoyant, sun-drenched classic.
Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson) – Speaking of classics, here’s another superlative adventure from the peerless Stevenson — a book to which every pirate fan owes an undying debt.
August Isle (Ali Standish) – Young-adult charmer set in the title’s fictional Florida locale, where youthful protagonist Miranda meets a magical mix of mystery, history, family, friendship and adventure. Standish’s ending has enough closure for any five other tales.
The Secret Treasure of Oak Island (D’Arcy O’Connor) – True story of the greatest treasure-hunt in history — 230 years of frenetic excavation on an island off Nova Scotia, searching for unknown plunder in a mysterious “money pit” that was apparently booby-trapped to foil all seekers. Once little known, this ongoing fiasco is now widely familiar thanks to the 11-season series on History Channel.
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie) – Arguably the world’s greatest whodunit (by the writer who is also its greatest practitioner), None sees 10 people lured to a remote island and then mysteriously bumped off, one by one. According to Wikipedia, at more than 100 million copies, it is the best-selling mystery of all time.
Swallows and Amazons (Arthur Ransome) – The first of Ransome’s 12 beloved books about kids exploring a British lake — particularly an uninhabited island. Another young-adult winner that deserves to be rediscovered.
Our Virgin Island (Robb White) – Speaking of rediscovery: This out-of-print title by a the virtually known White recounts the years he and his wife spent making a hardscrabble life for themselves on an eight-acre islet in the British Virgins. White, a personal favorite whose name can be found in my email address, wrote two other accounts of this saga; but — like most of his books — all three are very hard to find.
Searching for Paradise (Thurston Clarke) – Travel writer Clarke visited nearly 20 different locales — scary islands, private islands, pleasure islands, even Selkirk’s island — in an attempt to discover just why they’re so alluring. Originally titled Searching for Crusoe, it’s the ultimate tribute to “islomania”; pure delight from start to finish.
