The Mysterious Island: Jules Verne

The story begins in the American Civil War, during the siege of Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America. As famine and death ravage the city, five northern prisoners of war decide to escape by the unusual means of hijacking a balloon. The escapees are Cyrus Smith, a railroad engineer in the Union army; his black manservant Neb (short for Nebuchadnezzar), a former slave who had been freed by Smith; the sailor Bonadventure Pencroff; his protégé Harbert Brown; a young orphan boy;and the journalist Gedéon Spilett. The company is completed by Cyrus' dog "Top". After flying in stormy weather for several days, the group crash-lands on a cliff-bound, volcanic, deserted island. They name it "Lincoln Island" in honor of President Lincoln. With the knowledge of the brilliant engineer Smith, the five are able to sustain themselves on the island, producing fire, pottery, bricks, nitroglycerin, iron, a simple electric telegraph, a home on a stony cliffside called "Granite House", and even a seaworthy ship. Five castaways are washed up on a remote Pacific island where no human life exists - but is the island really deserted? Does some strange, supernatural power guide the destiny of all who dare venture on its shores? Abridged edition.