The Mind's Isle: Imaginary Islands in English Fiction

by Adrian Kempton

Overview

Islands have always attracted travellers, writers and dreamers. This book investigates exactly what lies behind the island's powerful appeal to the English literary imagination, discussing classics such as Utopia, The Tempest, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, Treasure Island and Lord of the Flies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781787073036
Publisher:	Peter Lang Ltd, International Academic Publishers
Publication date:	07/31/2017
Edition description:	New
Pages:	382
Product dimensions:	5.91(w) x 8.86(h) x (d)

About the Author

Adrian Kempton was formerly a lecturer in French, English and Comparative Literature at Queen’s University Belfast, University College Cork and the University of London Institute in Paris. He specializes in comparative eighteenth-century studies, with particular interests in epistolary writing, robinsonades, early children’s literature, salon art criticism and gardens. Retired since 2011, he lives between Paris and Chartres and is a frequent visitor to the Îles du Ponant – the islands of the setting sun.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS: Legend and Myth – Odysseus, Sindbad and Atlantis – Utopias and Dystopias – Blueprints for perfect societies: Utopia, Bacon and Neville – Enlightenment satire: Gulliver’s Travels – Symbol and ideal: Barrie, Warner and Huxley – Mystery and Mastery – The Tempest – Phraxos and Sycorax – Island laboratories and thrillers: Frankenstein, Moreau and Christie – Solitude and Survival – Robinson Crusoe – Robinsonades: Golding and Spark – Island retreats: Conrad, Lawrence and Ballard – Romance and Adventure – Byron and the Brontës – Marryat, Ballantyne and Lord of the Flies – Treasure Island – Childhood exploration: Jefferies, Ransome and Blyton.