THE LITTLE SAVAGE

This remarkable book is one of those on which Marryat was working during his last few months. It was finished by his son. A young boy and a rather nasty old man have been marooned on a remote tropical island. The man is very unkind to the boy, and treats him like a slave. But the man is struck blind by lightning, just at the very moment when it appeared likely that they were to be rescued. The boy is able to force the man to behave better, and learns to read, using the letters in the Prayer Book, starting with the Our Father. Eventually, after a false start, rescue does occur, and the boy meets his own relatives.