The Coral Island by modern scholars and generally considered to be dated in many aspects, in 2006 it was voted one of the top twenty Scottish novels at the 15th International World Wide Web Conference. Robert Louis Stevenson's 1882 novel "Treasure Island" was in part inspired by "The Coral Island", which he admired for its "better qualities", as was J. M. Barrie's character Peter Pan; both Stevenson and Barrie had been "fervent boy readers" of the novel. Novelist G. A. Henty was also influenced by Ballantyne's audience-friendly method of didactism. William Golding's 1954 novel "Lord of the Flies" was written as a counterpoint
As the crow flies navigational methods were introduced, Crows were kept upon ships and released when land was sought. Crows instinctively fly towards land. As the crow flies As the crow flies, similar to "in a beeline", is an idiom for the most direct path between two points. This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's novel "Oliver Twist": According to BBC Focus, "'As the crow flies' is a pretty common saying but it isn't particularly accurate". Crows do not swoop in the air like swallows or starlings, but they often circle above their nests. Crows do conspicuously