R M Ballantyne: 313 books

A beautiful island lying like a gem on the breast of the great Pacific— a coral reef surrounding, and a calm lagoon within, on the glass–like surface of which rests a most piratical–looking schooner. Such is the scene to which we invite our reader's attention for a little while. At...

I was a boy when I went through the wonderful adventures herein set down.With the memory of my boyish feelings strong upon me, I present my book specially to boys, in the earnest hope that they may derive valuable information, much pleasure, great profit, and unbounded amusement from its pages. One word...

(Excerpt): "Ailie had been nearly thrown out of her berth when the ship lay over, and now when she listened to the water hissing and gurgling past the little port that lighted her cabin, and felt the staggering of the vessel, as burst after burst of the hurricane almost tore the masts out of...

(Excerpt): “After becoming acquainted with gun-cotton, nitro-glycerine, dynamite, lithofracteur, and other combinations of powerfully-explosive agents, I took to searching for and inventing methods by which these might be utilised. To turn everything to good account, is a desire which I cannot resist....

"At sea once more!" said Will Osten in a meditative mood. Our hero made this remark one night to himself, which was overheard and replied to by his friend, Captain Dall, in a manner that surprised him. "It's my opinion, doctor," said the captain in a low voice, "that this...

(Excerpt): “Wet, worn and weary—with water squeaking in his boots, and a mixture of charcoal and water streaking his face to such an extent that, as a comrade asserted, his own mother would not have known him—a stout young man walked smartly one morning through the streets of London towards...

Some of the "dramatis personæ" introduced—Retrospective glances—Causes of future effects—Our hero's early life at sea—A pirate—A terrible fight and its consequences—Buzzby's helm lashed amidships—A whaling-cruise begun. Nobody ever caught John Buzzby asleep by any chance whatever. No weasel...

The book contains three stories. The first one, The Coxswain's Bride is the longest and the other two are quite short. Jack Frost is an interesting story personifying the cold winter wind. The Double Rescue is a bit fantastical, but not totally impossible. (Amazon)