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The Isle of Pines is a short story written by Henry Neville. Released in 1668 in two pamphlets (each pamphlet having one half of the narrative within it), it tells of a utopian society that falls apart at the end.
Though largely forgotten, The Isle of Pines is known as a precursor of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Opinions on The Isle of Pines vary. Most critics are dismissive of the Isles, dubbing it nothing more than a "porntopia" and an expression of the male fantasy. Worthington Chauncey Ford (editor of a 20th century reprint) calling it a "screaming farce" and Ibram X. Kendi claiming that it was written to "exonerate white men of their inhuman rapes and to mask their human attractions to the supposed beast-like women." Other critics (such as Susan Bruce, editor of Three Early Modern Utopias - which includes The Isle of Pines within it) claim that it is a cautionary tale that shows what happens when hedonistic desires are fufilled in creating a colony.
Characters[]
- George Pine - Originator of civilization on the Isle of Pines.
- William Pine - Ruler of the Isle of Pines during the visit of the Dutch ship.
- Henry Cornelius Van Sloetten - narrator of the Dutch voyage onto the Isle of Pines.
- Philippa - a slave on board George Pine's ship and the origin of the Phill lineage.
- Sarah English - Daughter of the captain of George Pine's ship.
- Mary Sparkes and Elizabeth Trevor - the maids on George Pine's ship.
- Henry Phill - chief ruler of the Phills during the visit of the Dutch ship. Described as rapacious and beastial.
Publisher's summary[]
A new edition of Henry Neville's remarkable 1668 work of utopian (or is it dystopian?) fiction -- the story of a man and four women who are shipwrecked on a island of endless plenty and rebuild society from scratch. Written decades before Robinson Crusoe, "The Isle of Pines" was one of the first published survival novels and an early work of utopian fiction, often studied alongside Francis Bacon's "New Atlantis" and Thomas More's "Utopia."
Plot[]
While travelling through the Indian Ocean, a Dutch ship becomes lost due to a storm and ends up near the titular Isle of Pines. They find a group of English-speaking peoples inhabiting the island and soon meet with the current leader of the island - William Pine - whom gives them the account of his grandfather, George Pine.
George Pine was a crewmember of a ship given passage to the East Indies by the "Queen's Royal Licence" that was destroyed in a storm. Pine, along with the (extremely young) daughter of the captain, two maids, and a slave girl. Pine mated with these women and soon filled the island with his offspring. To keep them in line, Pine established a Christian theocracy on the island and forbidded siblings to marry (though, as all of the inhabitants of the island were effectively first cousins, they were still inbreeding. This is never mentioned in the text of the Isle of Pines).
Though some revolts were attempted (largely by the lineage of the slave girl, the Phills) the citizenry of the Isle are largely kept in check by an extreme version of Mosaic law. While the Dutch ship is moored near the Isle of Pines, a battle breaks out between members of the Phill lineage and the Trevor lineage. William Pine has the Dutch sailors break up the fight. The Dutch sailors also map the Isle of Pines and gain samples of some of its wildlife while still moored on the island. The ship soon leaves from the Isle and visits several other exotic locales.
Worldbuilding[]
- The Isle of Pines is inhabited by no predatory beings (besides George Pine) and is home to goat-like creatures, birds that resemble dodos in description, and breadfruit.
rest to be added
Sources[]
- Wikipedia
- Goodreads
- introduction to Three Early Modern Utopias