Their Island Home

Their Island Home by Jules Verne

Their Island Home recounts the life of the Swiss Zermatt family after the wreck of the _Landlord_ casts Jean Zermatt, his wife Betsy, and their sons Fritz, Ernest, Jack, and Frank upon an unknown land in the Indian Ocean. They save supplies, animals, tools, weapons, and a pinnace from the wreck, first establishing Tent Home near Jackal River. They later create Rock Castle in a vast grotto, Falconhurst in a giant mangrove, and several farms and dwellings—Wood Grange, Sugar-cane Grove, Prospect Hill, and Eberfurt—within the fertile region they call the Promised Land and the broader country New Switzerland. Over ten years, their work, ingenuity, and the island’s abundant game, fish, plants, minerals, and crops give them security and comfort. They raise domestic animals, cultivate European and native plants, manufacture many necessities from local materials, build boats, and maintain a battery on Shark’s Island, firing its guns in hopes of attracting a passing ship. Yet they remain uncertain whether New Switzerland is an island or part of a continent, fear wild beasts and possible savages, and regret their separation from human society. Fritz discovers Pearl Bay and finds a message tied to an albatross’s foot, written by an Englishwoman stranded on volcanic Burning Rock. Later, while his father and brothers return from collecting pearls, Fritz secretly seeks the island. He finds Jenny Montrose, survivor of the wreck of the _Dorcas_, who has lived alone for more than two years by hunting, fishing, taming a cormorant and a jackal, and surviving on the scant resources of Burning Rock. Fritz brings her to the Zermatts, where she becomes deeply loved, while affection grows between her and Fritz. At the beginning of another dry season, Fritz and Jack fire the annual salute from Shark’s Island. Three answering cannon shots reveal the presence of a ship east of Deliverance Bay. A storm delays contact, but renewed signals confirm that the vessel remains nearby. Fritz and Jack, disguised and blackened as natives for caution, discover the British corvette _Unicorn_ undergoing repairs in a sheltered bay. Its commander, Lieutenant Littlestone, has been searching for survivors of the _Dorcas_. He mistakes the disguised brothers for savages, but the Zermatts soon approach openly. The _Unicorn_ confirms that New Switzerland is an uncharted island. Jenny learns that her father, Colonel Montrose, is alive in England. Lieutenant Littlestone visits Rock Castle with the Wolston family—Mr. Wolston, his wife Merry, and their daughters Hannah and Dolly—who are passengers aboard the corvette. The Zermatts decide that Jean and Betsy will remain on New Switzerland, as will Ernest and Jack; the Wolstons choose to settle there. Fritz, Frank, Jenny, and Dolly sail away on the _Unicorn_. Fritz is to marry Jenny with Colonel Montrose’s approval, while Dolly is to bring her brother James, his wife, and child back to the island. Jean Zermatt offers New Switzerland to Great Britain, expecting the corvette to return with formal acceptance and further colonists. After the departure, Rock Castle is saddened by the loss of Fritz, Frank, and Jenny, but the remaining Zermatts and Wolstons prepare for a larger future. Mr. Wolston’s engineering skill helps them construct a water-wheel, pumps, reservoir, wooden pipes, and canal that carry water from Jackal River to Swan Lake, allowing irrigation of the farms. Ernest grows close to Hannah, while Jack continues hunting and alternately resists and accepts the prospect of New Switzerland becoming a populous English colony. Before the rainy season and the expected return of the _Unicorn_, the two families take the pinnace _Elizabeth_ to explore the eastern coast. They find the country around Unicorn Bay barren and desolate, but from a height they see a fertile valley farther south. Sailing onward, they enter a sheltered creek and discover a broad navigable river, which they name the Montrose River in honour of Jenny. The surrounding land has woods, grasslands, streams, game, and distant mountains, suggesting room for many future settlers. The _Elizabeth_ ascends the Montrose with the flood tide. Jack hunts while Ernest maps the country, and all observe its plentiful birds and animals. At a second bend, the party anchors in a pleasant wooded place. M. Zermatt and Jack explore a tributary while Mr. Wolston and Ernest paddle farther upriver toward the mountains. They find that the land becomes increasingly barren and that a rocky dam makes the Montrose unnavigable for a considerable distance. The text ends as they examine this obstacle and the sterile country stretching toward the mountain range.

By Jules Verne · First published 1900 · Genre: Adventure Fiction, Robinsonade, Survival Fiction · 16 chapters · 79,539 words

First lines

The dry season set in at the beginning of the second week of October. This is the first spring month in the Southern zone. The winter in this nineteenth degree of latitude between the Equator and the tropic of Capricorn had not been very severe. The inhabitants of New Switzerland would soon be able to resume their wonted labours.

After eleven years spent upon this land it was none too soon to attempt to ascertain whether it was a part of one of the continents laved by the Indian Ocean or whether it must be included by geographers among the islands of those seas.

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adventure · survival · deserted island · shipwreck · schoolboys · castaways · exploration · self-reliance · friendship · leadership · coming of age · nature

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