The debut book of the Famous Five series, Five On A Treasure Island was initially published in 1942.
Summary Of The Book
Julian, Dick and Anne are to spend their summer vacation at Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin’s house at Kirrin Bay. They duly arrive at Kirrin Bay and meet their cousin, Georgina. Having grown up as an only child, Georgina is no stranger to solitude and initially she doesn’t enjoy the prospect of having her cousins over for an entire summer. She walks, talks and acts like a boy, and only answers to the name George.
However, after a few initial bumps, the four cousins finally get along. George even acquaints them with her dog, Timothy.
George wants to take her cousins all over Kirrin Island, and they begin exploring their exotic surroundings. George guides them around, passing on information about the island’s past and popular myths surrounding it. On one of their ventures, they are caught in a fierce storm, and bear witness to an old wrecked ship crashing on the rocks below them. As soon as the storm abates, the excited group contemplates exploring the wreckage, and decide to return very early the following morning to do so.
They come back in the wee hours of the next morning, and begin digging around, hoping for ancient gold or other treasures. They chance upon an old box, and upon opening it they discover a frail map to buried gold in Kirrin Island. And thus began the very first adventure of the five, as they begin tracking down the gold and realize that they are not alone in that conquest.
About Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton, born in 1897, was a popular and beloved British children’s writer, who wrote under the alias Mary Pollock.
She has authored numerous book for children of varied ages, such as The Watchman with 100 Eyes, My Fifth Nature Book, Enid Blyton’s Marigold Story Book, Cheer Up, Little Noddy, How John Got His Ducklings, and Eighth Brer Rabbit Book.
Born in London, she completed her schooling from St. Christopher’s School in Beckenham and went on to train as a teacher at Ipswich High School. She spent five years teaching, and would write poems and short-stories in her spare time. Her first ever publication was a collection of poems titled Child Whispers. She was married twice, first to Hugh Alexander Pollock and later to Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters. After suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in her late sixties, she passed away at the age of 71 at the Greenways Nursing Home in London. She still remains to be one of the most beloved children’s authors, and her books have been translated to over 30 languages.