cover image The Islander

The Islander

Gerald Kingsland. Trafalgar Square Publishing, $9.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-450-05853-0

He was a successful journalist and publisher in England, then a wine grower in Italy. In the wake of a severe personal crisis, Kingsland set out to become a modern Robinson Crusoe; he sought a remote tropical island where he could be self-sufficient, as well as a suitablecompanion (young, female and willing). Neither requirement was easy to findKingsland tried three islands in seven years and selected his companions by advertising in newspapers. First, there was Cocos Island, in the mid-Pacific,his three young sons joined him there for a time. With a 21-year-old ""GirlFriday'' he went to Robinson Crusoe Island off the coast of Chile, trying without success to reach Selkirk Island. On the third try, Kingsland advertised fora wife and drew Lucy Irvine, age 24. They went to Tuin, in the Torres Strait between Australia and Papua New Guinea, uninhabited and lacking a dependable water supply. Theirs was a tempestuous relationship (Irvine published her version of life on Tuin in Castaway; they nearly perished, but were saved by Badu Islanders. If there is a moral to this rollicking tale, it is that a Crusoe-type existence is improbable. Readers who like exotic adventure will enjoy Kingsland's. Photos. (June)