The Blue Lagoon (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Blue Lagoon is a romance novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole
, first published in 1908. The novel is the first of the Blue Lagoon trilogy, the second being The Garden of God
(1923) and the third being The Gates of Morning
(1925).
An unspecified amount of time passes and Paddy eventually dies in a drunken binge. Together, cousins Richard and Emmeline Lestrange have to survive solely on their resourcefulness, and the bounty of their remote paradise. Years pass and both Richard and Emmeline grow into tall, strong and beautiful young adults. They live in a self-constructed hut and spend their days fishing, swimming, diving for pearls, and exploring the island. During this period, they get along unthinkingly, although Richard often ignores Emmeline or takes her for granted, unless he needs an audience for one of his stories. Eventually, strange emotions start influencing their relationship.
Richard and Emmeline (they call each other Dick and Em) begin to fall in love, although they do not realize it, partly due to their general ignorance of human sexuality. They are physically attracted to each other, but don't realize it or know how to express it. They spend periods of time apart, feeling a sense of annoyance. Ultimately, after making up after a fight, they consummate their relationship. Stacpoole describes their sexual encounter as having "been conducted just as the birds conduct their love affairs. An affair absolutely natural, absolutely blameless, and without sin. It was a marriage according to Nature, without feast or guests."
From then on, Richard is very attentive to Emmeline, listening to her stories and bringing her gifts. They make love quite often for several months, and eventually Emmeline gets pregnant. Richard and Emmeline have no knowledge of childbirth and don't understand the physical changes to Emmeline's body. One day, Emmeline disappears. Richard searches for her all day, but cannot find her; he returns to their house and eventually she comes walking out of the forest, carrying a baby in her arms. Assuming her labor pains were a symptom of nauseous migraine
like the ones she suffered as a child, she had simply gone for a walk to clear her head, and this strange thing had happened to her. Knowing nothing about babies, they learn by trial and error that the child will not be able to drink fruit juice, but will nurse from Emmeline's breast. Because the only baby they have ever known was called Hannah, they give their little boy this name.
Together, the two young castaways spend all their time with Hannah, teaching him how to swim, fish, throw a spear, and play in the mud. They survive a violent tropical cyclone
and other hazards of South Sea Island life; Emmeline often feels that the paradisiac beauty of the island is a mask or facade, and that the dangers — poisonous berries and deadly storms — are the reality.
Meanwhile, back in San Francisco, Richard's father Arthur (Emmeline's uncle) still believes the pair are alive and that he will find them, obsessively turning over any clue. The strongest lead is a child's toy tea set, picked up on an island that the sailors call Palm Tree (because there is a large one at the break of the lagoon). Ships stop there for fresh water, and someone on a whaler
had picked up the box out of curiosity. Arthur at once recognizes it as an old plaything of Emmeline's — she had carried it everywhere and would never be without it. He finds a ship whose captain is willing to take him to Palm Tree.
One day, the two young parents and Hannah return in their lifeboat to the side of the island where they had lived with Paddy. Inexplicably, even to herself, Emmeline has broken off a branch of the deadly "never-wake-up" berries that Paddy warned her about on their first day. While Richard cuts bananas, absent-minded Emmeline fails to notice that her son has tossed one of the oars out of the boat. The tide comes in and sweeps the boat out into the lagoon, with her and Hannah in it. Richard comes swimming after, but is followed closely by a shark
and is only saved when Emmeline throws the other oar, striking the shark and allowing Richard enough time to climb in.
Although not far from shore, they cannot get back, or jump into the water to retrieve the oars for fear of a shark attack. They try to paddle with their hands, but to no avail; the boat is caught in the current and drifts out to sea. Clasped in Emmeline's hand is the branch of arita. The reader is not made privy to the specifics of what happened next.
Somewhat later, Arthur Lestrange's ship comes upon the pair with Hannah in their boat, lying unconscious but breathing. The arita branch is now bare, save for one berry remaining. Lestrange asks "Are they dead?" and the captain answers "No, sir. They are asleep." The ambiguous ending leaves it uncertain as to whether they can be revived.
In The Garden of God
, Stacpoole's sequel to The Blue Lagoon, the story begins at the very next moment and the pronouncement is made that Richard and Emmeline are now dead, as their breathing has just stopped. Hannah lives and is revived.
Henry De Vere Stacpoole
Henry De Vere Stacpoole was an Irish author, born in Kingstown . His best known work is the 1908 romance novel The Blue Lagoon, which has been adapted into feature films on three occasions...
, first published in 1908. The novel is the first of the Blue Lagoon trilogy, the second being The Garden of God
The Garden of God
The Garden of God is a romance novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole, first published in 1923. It is the first sequel to his best-selling novel The Blue Lagoon , and continued with The Gates of Morning .-Plot summary:...
(1923) and the third being The Gates of Morning
The Gates of Morning
The Gates of Morning is a romance novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole, first published in 1925. It is the third novel of the Blue Lagoon trilogy which began with The Blue Lagoon and continued with The Garden of God ....
(1925).
Plot summary
The novel is about two young children and a galley cook who are the survivors of a shipwreck in the South Pacific. In the turmoil of the burning ship from which they escaped, they become separated from another lifeboat that the boy's father (who is the girl's uncle) is in and drift out to sea. After days afloat, they arrive and are stranded on a lush tropical island. The cook, Paddy Button, assumes the responsibility for caring for the small children, teaching them how to behave, how to forage for food, etc. He warns them as well what not to eat, particularly arita, which he calls "the never-wake-up berries."An unspecified amount of time passes and Paddy eventually dies in a drunken binge. Together, cousins Richard and Emmeline Lestrange have to survive solely on their resourcefulness, and the bounty of their remote paradise. Years pass and both Richard and Emmeline grow into tall, strong and beautiful young adults. They live in a self-constructed hut and spend their days fishing, swimming, diving for pearls, and exploring the island. During this period, they get along unthinkingly, although Richard often ignores Emmeline or takes her for granted, unless he needs an audience for one of his stories. Eventually, strange emotions start influencing their relationship.
Richard and Emmeline (they call each other Dick and Em) begin to fall in love, although they do not realize it, partly due to their general ignorance of human sexuality. They are physically attracted to each other, but don't realize it or know how to express it. They spend periods of time apart, feeling a sense of annoyance. Ultimately, after making up after a fight, they consummate their relationship. Stacpoole describes their sexual encounter as having "been conducted just as the birds conduct their love affairs. An affair absolutely natural, absolutely blameless, and without sin. It was a marriage according to Nature, without feast or guests."
From then on, Richard is very attentive to Emmeline, listening to her stories and bringing her gifts. They make love quite often for several months, and eventually Emmeline gets pregnant. Richard and Emmeline have no knowledge of childbirth and don't understand the physical changes to Emmeline's body. One day, Emmeline disappears. Richard searches for her all day, but cannot find her; he returns to their house and eventually she comes walking out of the forest, carrying a baby in her arms. Assuming her labor pains were a symptom of nauseous migraine
Migraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
like the ones she suffered as a child, she had simply gone for a walk to clear her head, and this strange thing had happened to her. Knowing nothing about babies, they learn by trial and error that the child will not be able to drink fruit juice, but will nurse from Emmeline's breast. Because the only baby they have ever known was called Hannah, they give their little boy this name.
Together, the two young castaways spend all their time with Hannah, teaching him how to swim, fish, throw a spear, and play in the mud. They survive a violent tropical cyclone
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
and other hazards of South Sea Island life; Emmeline often feels that the paradisiac beauty of the island is a mask or facade, and that the dangers — poisonous berries and deadly storms — are the reality.
Meanwhile, back in San Francisco, Richard's father Arthur (Emmeline's uncle) still believes the pair are alive and that he will find them, obsessively turning over any clue. The strongest lead is a child's toy tea set, picked up on an island that the sailors call Palm Tree (because there is a large one at the break of the lagoon). Ships stop there for fresh water, and someone on a whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
had picked up the box out of curiosity. Arthur at once recognizes it as an old plaything of Emmeline's — she had carried it everywhere and would never be without it. He finds a ship whose captain is willing to take him to Palm Tree.
One day, the two young parents and Hannah return in their lifeboat to the side of the island where they had lived with Paddy. Inexplicably, even to herself, Emmeline has broken off a branch of the deadly "never-wake-up" berries that Paddy warned her about on their first day. While Richard cuts bananas, absent-minded Emmeline fails to notice that her son has tossed one of the oars out of the boat. The tide comes in and sweeps the boat out into the lagoon, with her and Hannah in it. Richard comes swimming after, but is followed closely by a shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
and is only saved when Emmeline throws the other oar, striking the shark and allowing Richard enough time to climb in.
Although not far from shore, they cannot get back, or jump into the water to retrieve the oars for fear of a shark attack. They try to paddle with their hands, but to no avail; the boat is caught in the current and drifts out to sea. Clasped in Emmeline's hand is the branch of arita. The reader is not made privy to the specifics of what happened next.
Somewhat later, Arthur Lestrange's ship comes upon the pair with Hannah in their boat, lying unconscious but breathing. The arita branch is now bare, save for one berry remaining. Lestrange asks "Are they dead?" and the captain answers "No, sir. They are asleep." The ambiguous ending leaves it uncertain as to whether they can be revived.
In The Garden of God
The Garden of God
The Garden of God is a romance novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole, first published in 1923. It is the first sequel to his best-selling novel The Blue Lagoon , and continued with The Gates of Morning .-Plot summary:...
, Stacpoole's sequel to The Blue Lagoon, the story begins at the very next moment and the pronouncement is made that Richard and Emmeline are now dead, as their breathing has just stopped. Hannah lives and is revived.
Characters
- Emmeline Lestrange - an orphan, the heroine
- Richard Lestrange - her cousin, the hero
- Paddy Button - A ship's galley cook
- Arthur Lestrange - Richard's father and Emmeline's uncle
- Hannah Lestrange - Richard and Emmeline's son.
Films
There were three films based on this novel.- The Blue LagoonThe Blue Lagoon (1923 film)The Blue Lagoon is a 1923 silent film telling of Henry De Vere Stacpoole's novel about children who come of age while stranded on a tropical island. The first telling of this oft filmed story. -Cast:* Molly Adair* Val Chard - Dick* Dick Cruickshanks...
(19231923 in film-Events:*April 15 - Lee De Forest demonstrates the Phonofilm sound-on-film system at the Rivoli Theater in New York with a series of short musical films featuring vaudeville performers.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1923:U.S.A...
), a silent film directed by W. Bowden and Dick Cruickshanks, starring Molly AdairMolly AdairMolly Adair was a British stage and screen actress. She was the mother of the actress Jill Adams.-Selected filmography:* Stella * Sinister Street * Married to a Mormon * The Blue Lagoon...
and Dick Cruickshanks. - The Blue LagoonThe Blue Lagoon (1949 film)The Blue Lagoon is a 1949 British romance and adventure film produced and directed by Frank Launder, starring Jean Simmons and Donald Houston. The screenplay was adapted by John Baines, Michael Hogan and Frank Launder from the novel The Blue Lagoon by Henry De Vere Stacpoole...
(19491949 in filmThe year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
), directed by Frank LaunderFrank LaunderFrank Launder was an English writer, director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat....
, starring Jean SimmonsJean SimmonsJean Merilyn Simmons, OBE was an English actress. She appeared predominantly in motion pictures, beginning with films made in Great Britain during and after World War II – she was one of J...
and Donald HoustonDonald HoustonDonald Daniel Houston was a Welsh actor whose first two films – The Blue Lagoon with Jean Simmons, and A Run for Your Money with Sir Alec Guinness – were highly successful...
. - The Blue LagoonThe Blue Lagoon (1980 film)The Blue Lagoon is a 1980 American romance and adventure film directed by Randal Kleiser. The screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart was based on the novel The Blue Lagoon by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. The film stars Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins...
(19801980 in film- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
), directed by Randal KleiserRandal KleiserJohn Randal Kleiser is an American film director and producer, perhaps best known for directing the 1978 musical film Grease.-Life and career:...
, starring Brooke ShieldsBrooke ShieldsBrooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
and Christopher AtkinsChristopher AtkinsChristopher Atkins is an American actor, who became famous with his costarring debut role in the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon.-Early life:...
.
Sequels
There are two other novels by Henry De Vere Stacpoole composing the Blue Lagoon trilogy.- The Garden of GodThe Garden of GodThe Garden of God is a romance novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole, first published in 1923. It is the first sequel to his best-selling novel The Blue Lagoon , and continued with The Gates of Morning .-Plot summary:...
(1923)
- The 19911991 in filmThe year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
film Return to the Blue LagoonReturn to the Blue LagoonReturn to the Blue Lagoon is a 1991 American romance and adventure film starring Milla Jovovich and Brian Krause, produced and directed by William A. Graham. The screenplay by Leslie Stevens was based on the novel The Garden of God by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. The original music score was composed...
, starring Milla JovovichMilla JovovichMilla Jovovich December 17, 1975)is an American model, actress, musician, and fashion designer. Over her career, she has appeared in a number of science fiction and action-themed films, for which music channel VH1 has referred to her as the "reigning queen of kick-butt".Milla Jovovich began...
and Brian KrauseBrian KrauseBrian Jeffrey Krause is an American actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Leo Wyatt on the WB Network TV series Charmed from 1998 to 2006.-Background:...
, was very loosely based on this novel.- The Gates of MorningThe Gates of MorningThe Gates of Morning is a romance novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole, first published in 1925. It is the third novel of the Blue Lagoon trilogy which began with The Blue Lagoon and continued with The Garden of God ....
(1925)
- The Gates of Morning
External links
- The Blue Lagoon Online Full text of the original novel.
- Primordial, and Three Laws & the Golden Rule by Morgan RobertsonMorgan RobertsonMorgan Andrew Robertson was a well-known American author of short stories and novels, and the self-claimed inventor of the periscope.He is best known for his short novel Futility, first published in 1898...
. These 1898 stories, which first appeared in Harper's monthly, are considered by some fans and scholars to be precursors to The Blue Lagoon. Some editions of The Blue Lagoon include Primordial in the appendix, the editors believing that Stacpoole may have been inspired by it. - Fans of Edgar Rice BurroughsEdgar Rice BurroughsEdgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
also acknowledge Robertson's contribution to Stacpoole's work as they study how both stories influenced Burroughs in the creation of Tarzan of the ApesTarzan of the ApesTarzan of the Apes is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first in a series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine in October, 1912; the first book edition was published in 1914. The character was so popular that Burroughs...
. The Ape-Man, His Kith and Kin by Georges Doddes, published in Erbzine, is a collection of stories and references to stories about shipwrecked, feral children predating the Tarzan novels. The Blue Lagoon and Primordial/ Three Laws & the Golden Rule are reprinted in their entirety. - Free audio recording of The Blue Lagoon from Librivox.org.