The Island of Adventure was published by Macmillan in 1944, launching the Adventure series that would run to eight books between 1944 and 1955. The series features Philip and Dinah Mannering, their friends Jack and Lucy-Ann Trent, and Kiki the parrot — a character whose ability to mimic speech (“Polly put the kettle on,” “Wipe your feet”) provides comic relief throughout the series.
The first book is set on the Isle of Dorin, off the Cornish coast, where the children have been sent on holiday with a guardian while their mothers are away. The island harbors a mystery: strange lights, abandoned copper mines, a sinister figure called “Joe,” and evidence of smuggling. The children investigate, venturing into underground tunnels and discovering that the island’s apparently innocent surface conceals criminal activity.
The Adventure series differs from the Famous Five in several respects. The settings are more exotic (later books take the children to Austria, the Scottish Highlands, and the Adriatic), the plots are more complex, the danger is more genuinely threatening, and the tone is less cozy. Philip Mannering, the natural leader, has a gift for taming wild animals (he always has a creature in his pocket — a lizard, a mouse, a slow-worm) that gives the series a distinctive texture.
The books were illustrated by Stuart Tresilian, whose dramatic, atmospheric black-and-white drawings contributed significantly to the series’ appeal. They remain among the most visually striking of Blyton’s publications.
Collecting The Island of Adventure
First edition (Macmillan, London, 1944): Blue cloth, dust jacket illustrated by Stuart Tresilian.
Market values:
- First edition in dust jacket: $300–$1,200
- Without jacket: $40–$120
- Complete first-edition set of 8 titles: $2,000–$6,000
- Modern reprints: $5–$10