'' (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 .
In the first chapter of the book we are
introduced to Julian and his younger brother and sister, Dick and Anne.
They
are chattering at the breakfast table with their parents. Like in most
Blyton books, the descriptions or the appearance of the children is not
described fully.
Its important to note that, the children go to Polseath as usual for
their
summer holidays but this time it is something different. Their parents
have
decided to go to Scotland on their own and they don't know where to
send
their children, until Daddy comes with an idea of sending them to his
brother Quentin who lives at a place called Kirrin Bay. Quentin is
married
and has a wife, Aunt Fanny and a daughter Georgina whom Julian, Dick
and
Anne haven't met!
The three children are very excited to go to Kirrin and meet their
cousin
and soon all the plans are made and they together set off through the
crowded roads of London.
Kirrin Cottage is an old, house built out of old white stone standing
on a
low cliff overlooking the bay. Julian, Dick and Anne meet their Uncle
Quintin who is a clever scientist. He is described as being tall, dark
and
very fierce-looking.
The family is poor and they don't have enough
money.
Aunt Fanny, is the opposite of her husband, she is sweet, kind and
sensible
who wins the heart of the three children at once.
Aha, now their cousin, Georgina on the other hand is strange who looks
and
acts like a boy and won't answer until you call her "George". She is
boyish
makes a great deal about how boys are better and stronger at
everything, she
is also an excellent swimmer and hold her breath under the water "for
ages"!
Julian, Dick and Anne really don't get along well with her first and
there
are a lot of ups and downs.
George, has always been alone and believes that her cousins are silly
and
useless.
After that, an excitement begins: George promises her cousins for a
trip to
Kirrin Island by her boat and how excited they all get! Wouldn't we
even
wish that we could all have adventures like that and own an island of
our
very own?
Now, the first wondrous adventure of the Five begins. They visit the
far
side Kirrin Island and discover an old ship-wreck which is almost below
the
surface. George also tells her cousin that it contains treasure. With
all of
this excitement, they visit the island again deciding to stay longer to
explore the castle and its grounds. Unfortunately, a furious storm
comes by
and it surprisingly brings up the old wreck above the water, dashing
towards
the rocks that surround Kirrin Island.
The children become very excited about this and they think that now
they
might be able to find the missing gold because the ship is above the
water!
Immediately the next day the Five of them row to Kirrin Island and
explore
the wreck, searching for anything that is connected with the treasure
and
bless-us, to their greatest exhilaration, they find an old wooden box
inside
the wreck!
The Five of them hurry back to Kirrin Island and open the box by
throwing it
down by the roof. Inside, they find an old map. The plot carries on and
the
excitement grows page by page. Then, some people come to the Island and
make
a surprising offer to Uncle Quentin that they want to buy the island
and my
word, George is simply furious!
- In 1992, Fabbri published Five on a Treasure Island as No.50 in their Classic Adventure series.
