<영어로 읽는 고전 _ R.M. 발렌타인의 섬의 여왕>
이 소설은 Ballantyne의 79번째 소설로 1880년부터 1937년까지 런던에서 발행된 연례 잡지인 Young England 의 6권에 처음 등장했다.
R.M. Ballantyne(1825-1894)은 스코틀랜드의 예술가이자 대부분 어린이 소설의 다작 작가였다. Edinburgh에서 태어난 Ballantyne은 열 자녀 중 아홉 번째였다. 16세에 Ballantyne은 캐나다로 이주하여 Hudson's Bay Company에서 일하면서 모피 무역을 위해 전국을 여행했다. 1847년 아버지가 세상을 떠나 스코틀랜드로 돌아온 그는 평생 동안 100권이 넘는 어린이 모험 책을 쓰면서 본격적으로 문학 활동을 시작했다. 'The Coral Island' 및 'The Young Fur Traders'와 같은 이야기는 큰 인기를 얻었으며 많은 이야기가 캐나다 전역을 여행한 자신의 경험을 바탕으로 했다.
그의 대표작으로는 "The Coral Island"(《산호섬》)과 "The Gorilla Hunters"(《고릴라 사냥꾼》) 등이 있으며, 이들 작품은 당시 영국에서 매우 인기가 있었습니다. 또한, 그는 자연과학에 관심을 가지고 있어 책에도 관련 내용을 많이 썼다.


The novel was Ballantyne's 79th novel and first appeared in Volume 6 of Young England, an annual magazine published in London from 1880 to 1937.
R.M. Ballantyne (1825-1894) was a Scottish artist and prolific author of mostly children's fiction. Born in Edinburgh, Ballantyne was the ninth of ten children. At the age of 16, Ballantyne moved to Canada, where he worked for the Hudson's Bay Company, where he traveled the country in the fur trade. Returning to Scotland after his father's death in 1847, he began his literary career in earnest, writing over 100 children's adventure books during his lifetime. His stories such as 'The Coral Island' and 'The Young Fur Traders' were hugely popular and many of his stories were based on his own experiences traveling across Canada.
His representative works include "The Coral Island" and "The Gorilla Hunters", which were very popular in England at the time. In addition, he was interested in natural science and wrote a lot of related contents in books.

요약
소설은 리곤다 가족과 남태평양 어딘가 표류선에 승선한 두 남자로 시작된다. 가족은 숨겨진 음식 은닉처를 찾아 인근 섬에 안전하게 착륙한다.
대피소를 찾은 후 그들은 섬을 탐험하기 시작한다. 그들은 필요한 모든 것이 나무에서 자라는 것 같다는 것을 곧 알게 된다. 그들은 탐험하고, 멧돼지를 사냥하고, 지나가는 배를 유인하기 위해 깃발을 세운다.
엄청난 폭풍우가 치는 동안 이민선이 섬 바로 앞의 산호초에서 난파되고, Otto와 Dominick Rigonda는 승객을 돕기 위해 달려가게 되는데…

Summary
The novel begins with the Rigonda family and two men who are on board a drifting ship somewhere in the South Pacific. The family finds a hidden cache of food and lands safely on a nearby island.
After finding shelter, they start exploring the island. They soon discover that everything they need seems to grow on trees. They explore, hunt wild boars, and raise flags to lure passing ships.
During a huge storm, an immigration ship is wrecked on a coral reef just off the island, and Otto and Dominick Rigonda rush to help the passengers...

CONTENTS

Chapter I. The Open Boat.
Chapter II. Wrecked on a Reef.
Chapter III. Explorations and Discoveries.
Chapter IV. Difficulties met and overcome.
Chapter V. Stirring Events and Changes.
Chapter VI. Shipwrecked Emigrants and Horrified Conspirators.
Chapter VII. Treats of Big Island?A Great Fight and a Royal Family.
Chapter VIII. The Coronation?Crown-Making Deliberations, Ceremonials, and Catastrophes.
Chapter IX. Shows how they were tormented by an Old Familiar Fiend;
Chapter X. Describes a Rescue, a Conspiracy, and a Trial.
Chapter XI. Shows how the Queen Conducted herself in Trying Circumstances, and was Finally Dethroned.
Chapter XII. Last Chapter.