A Bounty Boy Being Some Adventures of a Christian Barbarian on an Unpremeditated Trip Round the World

"A Bounty Boy" by Frank Thomas Bullen is a novel written in the early 20th century. The narrative focuses on the idyllic life of a small Christian community descended from the mutineers of the "Bounty", living on Norfolk Island. The main character, Christmas Bounty Adams, represents the journey of a young man growing up in this unique setting, exploring themes of innocence, morality, and the complexities of human nature as he engages with the outside world. The opening of the story paints a vivid picture of the island community during a joyful Christmas celebration, emphasizing their simple yet spiritually rich lives. As the community gathers to welcome the birth of a new child, the text illustrates their harmony and connection with nature. However, tools and supplies from passing ships hint at the reality beyond their idyllic existence. The eventual arrival of strangers, including two escaped convicts, introduces conflict and suspense, foreshadowing challenges that will test the ideals and values of this peaceful society as C. B. navigates the tension between innocence and the realities of a more complicated world. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Frank Thomas Bullen, British novelist, was born of poor parents in Paddington, London, on 5 April 1857, and was educated for a few years at a dame school and Westbourne school, Paddington. At the age of 9, his aunt, who was his guardian, died. He then left school and took up work as an errand boy. In 1869 he went to sea and travelled to all parts of the world in various capacities including that of second mate of the Harbinger and chief mate of the Day Dawn, under Capt. John R. H. Ward jun in 1879 when she was dismasted and disabled. Having spent 15 years of his life at sea, since the tender age of 12, he would later describe the hardships of his early life thus: I have been beaten by a negro lad as big again as myself, and only a Frenchman interfered on my behalf. Those were the days when boys in Geordie colliers or East Coast fishing smacks were often beaten to insanity and jumped overboard, or were done to death in truly savage fashion, and all that was necessary to account for their non returning was a line in the log to the effect that they had been washed or had fallen overboard. A parallel may be drawn with Joseph Conrad's career at sea aboard Torrens 1891–1893. He was a clerk in the Meteorological Office from 1883 to 1889. His reputation was made over the publication of The Cruise of the "Cachalot" (1898); and he also wrote, amongst other books, Idylls of the Sea (1899); Sea Wrack (1903); The Call of the Deep (1907) and A Compleat Sea Cook (1912), besides many articles and essays. He lectured extensively and was highly critical of Australasia's lack of defences against what he saw as imminent naval threats from Germany and Japan. He died at Madeira on 1 March 1915.