Language English Publication date 1927 Country Australia | Publisher Cornstalk Publishing Originally published 1927 Genre Novel | |
Similar Nemarluk: King of the Wilds, Flynn of the Inland, Lasseter's Last Ride, Drums of Mer, The Desert Column | ||
Madman's Island is a 1927 novel by Ion Idriess set in northern Australia. It was Idriess' first novel and was semi-autobiographical, although he invented the love interest at the insistence of the publisher.
Contents
Plot
Jack Burnett decides to go prospecting on an uninhabited island in the Barrier Reef with a friend. The friend goes mad and tries to kill Jack. Jack discovers some opium stashed away by Japanese smugglers. Jack is rescued and sells the opium to a Chinese merchant in Cooktown. In Cairns, Jack runs into the Japanese smugglers, but manages to escape with the help of a woman who he has fallen in love with.
Background
The book was based on a true incident that happened to Idriess. In 1923 he was marooned on Howick Island in Queensland with a friend he had gone prospecting with. The friend had a war injury which sent him mad and he tried to kill Idriess.
Idriess kept a diary of his time on the island and used it as the basis for the book. He sold it to a publisher in 1925.
Idriess fictionalised the story, including a sub plot about opium smuggling.
Reception
The book was not received particularly well.
1938 Edition
Idriess rewrote the book after he had achieved acclaim with his other writings. He removed the fictional elements and instead did is as a memoir. It was republished in 1938 and was a large success, selling 70,000 copies.