Magic Island

by Unknown

A sea voyage takes Emmy and Lissa on Captain Andy's ship.

Genres: Childrens, Historical Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Unknown" when the author or editor (as applicable) is not known and cannot be discovered. If at all possible, list at least one actual author or editor for a book instead of using "Unknown".

Books whose authorship is purposefully withheld should be attributed instead to Anonymous.

Reviews

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a charming little read, and a very special book in my family as it was written by a friend of my great grandmother's and dedicated to my mother when we was 3 years old! I loved the plot and vivid descriptions of the tropical island of Barbados. I felt as thought I could see the colors, smell the flowers, and feel the breeze in every scene. I'm definitely interested in checking out Chastain's other works.

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Angel Thorne is orphaned and sent to live with a family friend in New York, she expects a kindly old gentleman she can keep house for. Instead, she is taken in by Jonathan Spenlow, a wealthy shipowner, whose home intimidates her. He is kind but his granddaughter Lissa is unwelcoming. Even worse, Angel is ill and cannot recover her strength. But Lissa's dashing Cousin Andy suggests she accompany him and his wife to Barbados on the clipper ship he captains, where an exciting new life is in store.

Third in the trilogy about Lissa Spenlow ( ) and Emmy Thatcher ( )

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a child I adored EMMY KEEPS A PROMISE by the same author so I picked this up as an insomnia-fighting comfort read. This one is also about an outsider who is welcomed warmly into a wealthy, socially prominent family, but this time the action leaves NY in the 1850s and goes to Barbados. I found myself wondering about when slavery was abolished in Barbados and apparently that was in 1834. Still, most of the black characters had probably been enslaved and then emancipated in their lifetime. The silence on race relations probably seemed appropriate for Chastain's own time (1908-1964) but made me a bit uneasy with the vision of hindsight.