I'm mad about islands but not mad enough to pay US$70.35 - or approximately AUS$110.79 - plus AUS$42.48 in postage on ebay for the only available copy on sale of the book by the same name.
Lucky for me, good ol' archive.org has a copy for online reading which I detest but shall persevere as I want to read about the islands and the fascination they held for Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Louis Becke, Jack London, W. Somerset Maugham, Nordhoff and Hall, Robert Dean Frisbie, James A. Michener and many, many more.
What are the lures of the South Seas, that more romantic term for the South Pacific? Robert Louis Stevenson voiced it well in this passage of his novel "The Wrecker": "Precipitous shores, spired mountaintops, and deep shade of hanging forests, the unresting surf upon the reef, and the unending peace of the lagoon; sun, moon, and stars of an imperial brightness; man moving in these scenes scarce fallen, and women lovelier than Eve; the primal curse abrogated, the bed made ready for the stranger, life set to perpetual music, and the guest welcomed, the boat urged, and the long night beguiled with poetry and choral song."
I think I'm all set to spend this tropically warm Sunday on the sundrenched verandah dreaming of a life I lived so long ago.
