Madman's Island
First edition cover design
AuthorIon Idriess
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Genrenovel
PublisherCornstalk Publishing
Publication date
1927

Madman's Island is a 1927 novel by Ion Idriess set in northern Australia.

It was Idriess' first novel and was semi-autobiographical, although he invented the love interest at the insistence of the publisher.[1][2]

Plot

Jack Burnett decides to go prospecting on an uninhabited island in the Barrier Reef with a friend. The friend goes mad and tries to kill Jack. Jack discovers some opium stashed away by Japanese smugglers. Jack is rescued and sells the opium to a Chinese merchant in Cooktown.

In Cairns, Jack runs into the Japanese smugglers, but manages to escape with the help of a woman he has fallen in love with.[3]

Background

The book was based on a true incident that happened to Idriess. In 1923 he was marooned on Howick Island in Queensland with a friend he had gone prospecting with. The friend had a war injury which sent him mad and he tried to kill Idriess.[4]

Idriess kept a diary of his time on the island and used it as the basis for the book. He sold it to a publisher in 1925.[1][5][6]

Idriess fictionalised the story, including a subplot about opium smuggling.

Reception

The book was not received particularly well.[7][8]

1938 Edition

Madman's Island
First edition cover design
AuthorIon Idriess
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Genrenon-fiction
PublisherAngus and Robertson
Publication date
1938

Idriess rewrote the book after he had achieved acclaim with his other writings. He removed the fictional elements and instead revised it as a memoir. It was republished in 1938 and was a large success, selling 70,000 copies.[1][9][10][11][12]

Radio Adaptation

ABC Weekly 16 August 1941

The novel was serialised for radio in 1941,[13] the first time one of his books was so adapted,[14] and on which it was read by Ellis Price.[15][16][17] It was adapted for radio again in 1949.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Interview with Ion Idriess", ABC
  2. ↑ "Author of Twenty-two Books And Still Going Strong". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 33, 223. New South Wales, Australia. 17 June 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 12 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "NEW FICTION". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 27, 898. New South Wales, Australia. 4 June 1927. p. 10. Retrieved 16 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Marooned". The Telegraph. No. 15, 675. Queensland, Australia. 23 February 1923. p. 6. Retrieved 16 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "MADMAN'S ISLAND". Daily Examiner. Vol. 17, no. 2549. New South Wales, Australia. 4 September 1925. p. 7. Retrieved 16 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Marooned on Madman's Island". Sunday Mail. No. 445. Queensland, Australia. 30 October 1938. p. 1 (MAGAZINE SECTION). Retrieved 16 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "NEW FICTION". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 4 June 1927. p. 10. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "MADMANS ISLAND". The Cairns Post. Qld.: National Library of Australia. 20 June 1927. p. 9. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "Author of Twenty-two Books And Still Going Strong". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 33, 223. New South Wales, Australia. 17 June 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 28 March 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ↑ "MADMAN'S ISLAND". Kapunda Herald (SA : 1878–1951). SA: National Library of Australia. 16 September 1938. p. 1. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "BOOK of the WEEK". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 29 September 1938. p. 55. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "AN AUSTRALIAN STORY". Geraldton Guardian and Express. WA: National Library of Australia. 4 October 1938. p. 1. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Australasian Radio Relay League., "THRILLS PACK LIFE Idriess Was 'Broke' So Took To Pen", The wireless weekly : the hundred per cent Australian radio journal, Sydney: Wireless Press (Vol. 36 No. 27 (July 5, 1941)), nla.obj-721538126, retrieved 12 December 2023 – via Trove
  14. ↑ "2UE CALLING". The Cumberland Argus And Fruitgrowers Advocate. No. 4588. New South Wales, Australia. 13 August 1941. p. 12. Retrieved 12 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ↑ "2UE CALLING". The Cumberland Argus And Fruitgrowers Advocate. No. 4583. New South Wales, Australia. 9 July 1941. p. 12. Retrieved 12 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ↑ Australasian Radio Relay League., "RADIO GETS ITS FIRST IDRIESS NOVEL "Madman's Island" To Be Read By Ellis Price Next Month", The wireless weekly : the hundred per cent Australian radio journal, Sydney: Wireless Press (Vol. 36 No. 26 (June 28, 1941)), nla.obj-715022173, retrieved 12 December 2023 – via Trove
  17. ↑ Australasian Radio Relay League., "Idriess Stories For Broadcast", The wireless weekly : the hundred per cent Australian radio journal, Sydney: Wireless Press (Vol. 35 No. 48 (November 30, 1940)), nla.obj-720835516, retrieved 12 December 2023 – via Trove
  18. ↑ Australian Broadcasting Commission. (1939), "NEW SOUTH WALES COMMERCIAL PROGRAMMES", ABC weekly, Sydney: ABC (Vol. 11 No. 3 (15 January 1949)), nla.obj-1342990372, retrieved 12 December 2023 – via Trove
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