The Coral Island the civilising effect of Christianity, 19th-century British imperialism in the South Pacific, and the importance of hierarchy and leadership. It was the inspiration for William Golding's dystopian novel "Lord of the Flies" (1954), which inverted the morality of "The Coral Island"; in Ballantyne's story the children encounter evil, but in "Lord of the Flies" evil is within them. In the early 20th century, the novel was considered a classic for primary school children in the UK, and in the United States it was a staple of high-school suggested reading lists. Modern critics consider the book's worldview to be dated and
Martha Peake: a Novel of the Revolution Martha Peake: a Novel of the Revolution Martha Peake: a Novel of the Revolution is a 2000 novel by the British author Patrick McGrath. It tells the story of the grotesquely crippled Harry Peake and his daughter Martha, their involvement with the mysterious anatomist Lord Drogo, the tragic events that separate them, and the subsequent flight of Martha to America at the dawning of the Revolution. The work is narrated by Ambrose Tree as he asks his elderly Uncle William about the story of the "Cripplegate Giant" Harry Peake, his daughter Martha, and Lord Francis Drogo, a famous anatomist that