The coral island is a book by Scottish author R. M. Ballantyne that was
published in 1857. The tale follows the exploits of three lads who are
marooned on a South Pacific island after being the only survivors of a
shipwreck. It was one of the first works of young adult literature to
feature only young adult heroes. The book first went on sale in late
1857 and has never been out of print. It is a typical Robinsonade, a
type of fiction influenced by Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. The
significance of hierarchy and leadership is one of the novel's key
themes, along with the civilizing influence of Christianity and
19th-century imperialism in the South Pacific. The dystopian novel Lord
of the Flies by William Golding, published in 1954, was inspired by it
and flipped the morals of Ballantyne's The Coral Island; whereas in
Ballantyne's tale, the children meet evil, in Lord of the Flies evil
resides within them. The book was regarded as a classic for primary
school students in the UK around the turn of the 20th century, and it
was frequently included on high school reading lists in the US.