Eilís Dillon (1920-1994) wrote more than thirty books for young people, as well as fiction for adults, including the best-selling historical novel Across the Bitter Sea, about the struggle for Irish independence in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. With few exceptions, her young people's books are set in the west of Ireland, in small communities struggling to make a living on the islands and along the Atlantic coast. As the critic Declan Kiberd wrote in Dillon's obituary: “What Laura Ingalls Wilder did for children's literature in the US, she achieved in Ireland, imparting a sure historical sense in books such as The Singing Cave. That interest in history was a natural expression of her curiosity of mind, and of her family inheritance. »

The Lost Island

By Eilís Dillon

Michael Farrell was forced to grow up quickly after his father disappeared hunting for treasure on the fabled lost island of Inishmananan. Struggling to get by, one evening he and his mother receive a mysterious message from a ragged tramp who stops by their farm. The old man has proof that Michael's father is alive!

Although no one seeking the island has ever returned, Michael and his friend Joe board the first boat they can, only to find out it is run by a treacherous gang of sailors. Braving the unknown seas, they embark in a grand search for Michael's missing father, the spectacular fortune, and the island's long-lost secret. Set amid Ireland's picturesque west coast, plots against Michael and the adventures that befall him make this magical and suspenseful narrative a page-turning, rough and tumble adventure story.

Reviews

Simply a good writer…. Loving and understanding people, and concerned to tell stories that are as exciting as adventure stories should be but in which the events are tied firmly to human possibility.
— The Times Literary Supplement

A thoroughgoing adventure story with all the details of sailing, place and character brushed in delicately. Plenty of action and a dour sense of humour. Unreservedly recommended.
— The Times (London)

Beginning quietly with an ordinary market day, the book gathers speed and holds the reader enthralled to its conclusion.
— The Horn Book

As original and as full of apprehensive suspense as a Graham Greene entertainment for grown-ups.
— The New Statesman

Also see:

The Island of Horses By Eilís Dillon A loving, clear-eyed portrait of rural Irish life, The Island of Horses is fraught with suspense and peopled with unforgettable individuals.

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