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Islanders #1
Islanders
Pat Faraday could hardly believe it. This was going to be the holiday of his lifetime! Together with two friends, Nick and Toby, he was given free run of a mile of Salmon river, an island, and five hundred acres of Devon woodland to spend the holiday in complete Swiss Family Robinson fashion, free and independent, and relying only on their own resources.
270 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1950
25 people want to read
About the author
Roland Pertwee
78 books2 followersBorn and educated in Brighton, Roland Pertwee gained a scholarship at the Royal Academy Schools to study painting at the early age of 16. Two years later he exhibited at Burlington House, one of the youngest ever to do so and he was justly proud of the achievement.
Thereafter he went to Paris and studied at the Atelier Julien, becoming, in his own words, "one of the argumentative all-hour gang of the Quartier Latin".
On his return to London he set himself up as a portrait painter but giving, again in his own words, "general dissatisfaction to my sitters and myself", success eluded him and he was struggling to make ends meet so he decided to have a career change and, with no training, became an actor.
He served in the Royal Army Service Corps in World War I as a second Lieutenant and then as an acting Captain. In 1918 he retired from the Army and returned to his acting, and when not on stage he was more often than not to be found watching plays at the West End theatres.
While in France during World War I he began to practise writing and was found scribbling in all his spare moments. This led him to consider writing seriously, as well as keeping his acting engagements going, and he considered it "the most delightful profession of all and gives [me] the most satisfaction".
He began acting in films as early as 1915 and appeared in 10 films between that date and 1945 with his real success in that medium coming with such films as 'The Four Just Men' (1939), 'Pimpernel Smith' (1941) and 'The Halfway House' (1944). At the same time he was writing screenplays such as 'The Bridal Chair' (1919) and 'The Last Rose of Summer' (1920).
He also wrote plays such as 'Out to Win' (1921), which was filmed in 1923, and 'Pink String and Sealing Wax' (1945) also made into a film.
In 1927 his play 'Interference' (1927), written in conjunction with Howard Dearden, became so popular that he, as the author, was at one time unable to get a seat for an evening performance!
He later turned 'Interference' into a serial and its huge success meant that it was subsequently published as a novel. It also became Paramount Pictures' first full-length talking film in 1928 (simultaneously being filmed as a silent film) starring William Powell and Clive Brook.
In 1929 he co-wrote a play 'Heatwave' with Denise Robins and this was produced at the St James's Theatre, London in 1929.
In addition to his acting and writing he became a successful film director with many credits to his name.
His later writing included a series of boys' stories under the generic title of 'The Islanders', the first of which was so entitled and was published in 1950. He followed this in the series with 'Rough Water' (1951) and 'Operation Wild Goose' (1955) and there was also 'An Actor's Life For Me' (1953), which featured just one of the boys from 'The Islanders' series.
In 1954, together with his eldest son Michael, he co-wrote 'The Grove Family' for BBC television and it is now regarded as the first British television soap opera. Named after the BBC's Lime Grove Studios, there was a film made of the soap, written by the father and son combination and entitled 'It's a Great Day' (1955).
The television soap opera ran for 148 episodes through to 1957 before ending its run and when it did finish Roland Pertwee decided that it was time to gracefully retire from the writing scene.
As well as son Michael, another son, Jon, later earned fame as Dr Who.
Roland Pertwee died three weeks before his 78th birthday on 26 April 1963.
Gerry Wolstenholme
November 2012
Thereafter he went to Paris and studied at the Atelier Julien, becoming, in his own words, "one of the argumentative all-hour gang of the Quartier Latin".
On his return to London he set himself up as a portrait painter but giving, again in his own words, "general dissatisfaction to my sitters and myself", success eluded him and he was struggling to make ends meet so he decided to have a career change and, with no training, became an actor.
He served in the Royal Army Service Corps in World War I as a second Lieutenant and then as an acting Captain. In 1918 he retired from the Army and returned to his acting, and when not on stage he was more often than not to be found watching plays at the West End theatres.
While in France during World War I he began to practise writing and was found scribbling in all his spare moments. This led him to consider writing seriously, as well as keeping his acting engagements going, and he considered it "the most delightful profession of all and gives [me] the most satisfaction".
He began acting in films as early as 1915 and appeared in 10 films between that date and 1945 with his real success in that medium coming with such films as 'The Four Just Men' (1939), 'Pimpernel Smith' (1941) and 'The Halfway House' (1944). At the same time he was writing screenplays such as 'The Bridal Chair' (1919) and 'The Last Rose of Summer' (1920).
He also wrote plays such as 'Out to Win' (1921), which was filmed in 1923, and 'Pink String and Sealing Wax' (1945) also made into a film.
In 1927 his play 'Interference' (1927), written in conjunction with Howard Dearden, became so popular that he, as the author, was at one time unable to get a seat for an evening performance!
He later turned 'Interference' into a serial and its huge success meant that it was subsequently published as a novel. It also became Paramount Pictures' first full-length talking film in 1928 (simultaneously being filmed as a silent film) starring William Powell and Clive Brook.
In 1929 he co-wrote a play 'Heatwave' with Denise Robins and this was produced at the St James's Theatre, London in 1929.
In addition to his acting and writing he became a successful film director with many credits to his name.
His later writing included a series of boys' stories under the generic title of 'The Islanders', the first of which was so entitled and was published in 1950. He followed this in the series with 'Rough Water' (1951) and 'Operation Wild Goose' (1955) and there was also 'An Actor's Life For Me' (1953), which featured just one of the boys from 'The Islanders' series.
In 1954, together with his eldest son Michael, he co-wrote 'The Grove Family' for BBC television and it is now regarded as the first British television soap opera. Named after the BBC's Lime Grove Studios, there was a film made of the soap, written by the father and son combination and entitled 'It's a Great Day' (1955).
The television soap opera ran for 148 episodes through to 1957 before ending its run and when it did finish Roland Pertwee decided that it was time to gracefully retire from the writing scene.
As well as son Michael, another son, Jon, later earned fame as Dr Who.
Roland Pertwee died three weeks before his 78th birthday on 26 April 1963.
Gerry Wolstenholme
November 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 2, 2023
De titel en titelpagina zijn heel wat opwindender dan het eigenlijke boek. Daar is niks mis mee maar van het familie Robinson gevoel is buiten een sporadische verwijzing eigenlijk niks te merken.
De jongens installaren zich inderdaad op een soort van eiland maar de verbinding met de buitenwereld is nooit echt verbroken. Ze begeven zich eigenlijk meer buiten dan op hun eiland. En daar beleven ze ook al hun avonturen. Ze komen ook wel in gevaar maar dat zijn de zaken die avontuurlijke jongens overkomen al dan niet door hun eigen onbezonnenheid.
Hun mini-oorlogje met een stelletje zigeuners loopt wel uit de hand en had slecht kunnen aflopen maar door een gelukkig toeval loopt ook dat goed af. Zelfs hun vete met een huurder en feitelijke buur op hun domein zal uiteindelijk, niet zo heel geloofwaardig, in een soort van vriendschap veranderen.
Het hele boek draait vooral rond jacht en visvangst waar 1 van de jongens zijn bedenkingen bij heeft maar wat in de geest van de tijd toch wel als doodnormaal wordt gezien.
Vooral het vissen op zalm en forel krijgt veel aandacht, met verduidelijking van wat wel en niet mag. Het verschil tussen sportvissen en stropen.
Het leest vlot, er komt van ver een beetje romantiek bij kijken, in de stijl van ruzie maken is het begin van de liefde. Verder wordt er veel gegeten en gedronken en een beetje gefeest.
Niets schokkends, wel leuk om lezen.
De jongens installaren zich inderdaad op een soort van eiland maar de verbinding met de buitenwereld is nooit echt verbroken. Ze begeven zich eigenlijk meer buiten dan op hun eiland. En daar beleven ze ook al hun avonturen. Ze komen ook wel in gevaar maar dat zijn de zaken die avontuurlijke jongens overkomen al dan niet door hun eigen onbezonnenheid.
Hun mini-oorlogje met een stelletje zigeuners loopt wel uit de hand en had slecht kunnen aflopen maar door een gelukkig toeval loopt ook dat goed af. Zelfs hun vete met een huurder en feitelijke buur op hun domein zal uiteindelijk, niet zo heel geloofwaardig, in een soort van vriendschap veranderen.
Het hele boek draait vooral rond jacht en visvangst waar 1 van de jongens zijn bedenkingen bij heeft maar wat in de geest van de tijd toch wel als doodnormaal wordt gezien.
Vooral het vissen op zalm en forel krijgt veel aandacht, met verduidelijking van wat wel en niet mag. Het verschil tussen sportvissen en stropen.
Het leest vlot, er komt van ver een beetje romantiek bij kijken, in de stijl van ruzie maken is het begin van de liefde. Verder wordt er veel gegeten en gedronken en een beetje gefeest.
Niets schokkends, wel leuk om lezen.
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August 27, 2023Intended as a YA novel, though it gets a bit convoluted with hunting and fishing rights these boys may have /not have on Old B's land, and there's even a court case. Pertwee family appears to have had quite a fondness for the wilds of Devonshire. There's three boy characters, which i suppose may have been inspired by Roland Pertwee's three sons, who spent their summers in Devon. There's an in-joke on page 145 (Bobbs Merrill edition) - Old B says "An author chap who used to live in these parts put me on to it. Purdey or Pewitt or some such name." Also, the character Nick, has parents who work in showbiz.
January 21, 2016
I remember this book very fondly. I read it in high school and have often wanted to find it and read it again, as well as the sequels of which I only read one, "Rough Water". I was and am a voracious reader. These books held my interest very well. I remember it being about a group of city boys who are offered the chance to live Swiss Family Robinson style on a small river island owned by a wealthy man. I'd like to revisit it sometime.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews