The Beach of Dreams (1919) is a novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole.
Although he is more widely known for his novel The Blue Lagoon (1908),
which inspired the 1980 hit drama starring Brooke Shields, Stacpoole was
a prolific bestselling author whose dozens of literary works allow the
reader to enter the world of nautical adventure. "It was as though deep
in his being lay a blazing hatred born of injustice through ages and
only coming to light when upborne by balloon-juice. On these occasions a
saloon bar with its glitter and phantom show of mirth and prosperity
sometimes called on him to dispense and destroy it, the passion to fight
the crowd seized him, a passion that has its origin, perhaps, in sources
other than alcohol." In his youth, Henry De Vere Stacpoole sailed across
the South Pacific as a ship's doctor, gathering the raw imaginative
materials that would inspire dozens of romance and adventure novels. In
The Beach of Dreams, a yacht collides with a fishing vessel in the
middle of the South Pacific, leaving few alive. The survivors--a rich
woman and a pair of weathered sailors--attempt to survive on a nearby
island, but soon the men prove impossible to trust. In her darkest hour,
Cléo de Bromsart encounters Raft, a brash and brave fisherman with
striking red hair and a hatred of injustice. Together, they form an
alliance against the elements and await their day of rescue. With a
beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this
edition of Henry De Vere Stacpoole's The Beach of Dreams is a classic
of British literature reimagined for modern readers.
