Story summary
Samenvatting van De blauwe lagune
- 8 min. leestijd
- 10 parts
- Binnenkort te beluisteren
Two children and an old Irish sailor lose their ship to fire and land on a lagoon island ringed by coral.
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De blauwe lagune in het kort
Samenvatting: 8 min leestijd
- Leestijd
- Ongeveer 4 h 15 min3 h 20 min fast, 5 h slow
- Lengte
- 60.300 woorden
- Bibliotheekniveau
- Gemiddeld longer sentences, everyday words
- Voor het eerst verschenen
- 1908by H. De Vere Stacpoole
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Hoelang het duurt om de klassiekers te lezen · Bijgewerkt
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De blauwe lagune in short
The Blue Lagoon follows two young children from a burning ship to a coral island in the South Pacific. An old Irish sailor guards them through fog and a derelict brig. When his drinking takes him away, the children are left alone with the island and with each other.
What De blauwe lagune is about
What would you do if your ship caught fire at sea, and the only grown-up in your small boat was an old sailor who loves his fiddle, his fairies and his rum? That is where The Blue Lagoon begins. A sailing ship burns in a calm, and a fog swallows the boats.
H. De Vere Stacpoole, an Irish writer who knew the sea, wrote this romance of two children cast away in the South Pacific. He asks what two young people become when no one tells them what to think. You get a story of fear and wonder, told with humor and vivid scenes.
Voor wie is het?. Readers who love castaway adventures, vivid island scenery and warm Irish humor will enjoy this novel. It also draws those who like sea voyages and childhood innocence.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A Fiddling Sailor Guards Two Children
The story opens in the forecastle of the Northumberland, a sailing ship becalmed south of the equator. Mr Button, an old Irish sailor nicknamed Left-Handed Pat, sits on a sea chest and plays his fiddle. Everything he does seems to go a little wrong, yet he carries a great store of innocence. He tells the men a yarn about his aunt's leprechaun, a green little man who spoils the eggs and chases the pig.
In the cabin travel three passengers bound from Boston toward San Francisco. Arthur Lestrange is dying of consumption. His niece Emmeline is eight, dreamy and a sleepwalker. His son Dick is noisy and endlessly curious. Children flock to Paddy, because he does the wrong thing in the eyes of adults and the right thing in the eyes of the young.
One starry night Lestrange asks the captain not to tell the children what death is, if he dies. They should hear only that he has gone aboard another ship. Protecting children from the truth does not prepare them for it.
- 2Begin gratis met lezen
Fire in the Hold Sends Boats Away
The calm goes on for days.
- 3Begin gratis met lezen
A Derelict Brig and an Island Appear
Through the fog night, Paddy rows blindly and sings a lullaby to the sleeping children.
- 4Begin gratis met lezen
A Lagoon Where Childhood Lasts Forever
The lagoon is a lake of azure, protected from storms by a barrier reef of coral.
- 5Begin gratis met lezen
Rum Takes Paddy Button to the Reef
At first Paddy drinks and sings sea shanties, and the children enjoy the happy change in him.
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Five Years Bring Danger and Wonder
The second book opens five years later.
- 7Begin gratis met lezen
Love, a Baby and a Storm
After the schooner leaves, Dick turns restless.
- 8Begin gratis met lezen
Innocence Grows Wild Under the Sun
One theme of the book is what happens to a child when civilization is stripped away.
- 9Begin gratis met lezen
Fear of Death Shapes the Island
The second theme is death, and how children meet it without any words to soften it.
- 10Begin gratis met lezen
A Lyrical Voice and a Father's Search
Stacpoole tells the story in a voice that moves easily from comedy to wonder.
Read all 10 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Paddy Button An old Irish sailor, fond of fiddle, fairies and drink, who takes charge of two children and wants only to keep them safe and happy.
- Emmeline Lestrange A dreamy, silent girl who guards a secret box of toys and fears losing those she loves.
- Dick Lestrange Emmeline's cousin, a bold and practical boy who learns to build, fish and hunt, and wants always to protect her.
- Arthur Lestrange The children's guardian, a consumptive man who longs to shield them from death and later searches the Pacific for them.
- Captain Le Farge The captain of the Northumberland, a harsh naturalized American who must save his ship and his crew from fire.
- Koko A tame blue bird who lives in the artu tree and becomes a friend to the children.
How it ends (spoiler)
The schooner Raratonga, hired by Lestrange, finds a small dinghy drifting on the sea. Captain Stannistreet and Lestrange row out to it. In the bottom of the boat lie a girl in striped cloth, a partly hidden figure and a baby, with the girl's arms wrapped around her companions. Their breasts rise and fall. In the girl's hand is a branch with one withered berry. Lestrange asks if they are dead, and the captain answers that they are only asleep.
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Vragen over De blauwe lagune
What is The Blue Lagoon about?
Two young cousins, Dick and Emmeline, are cast adrift after their ship burns. With an old sailor named Paddy Button, they reach a Pacific island, and the story follows their life there as they grow up and fall in love.
Who is Paddy Button in The Blue Lagoon?
He is an Irish sailor in his sixties who looks after the children. He tells them tales of leprechauns and sea monsters, teaches them to cook and fish, and keeps them cheerful, though rum becomes his weakness.
Is The Blue Lagoon a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction by H. De Vere Stacpoole, an Irish writer. He drew on his knowledge of sailing and the Pacific to create a romantic tale set among coral islands in the South Seas.
What is the box Emmeline carries in The Blue Lagoon?
It is a brown paper parcel given to her by a lady friend in Boston. When she opens it ashore, it holds a tiny china tea set, with six small plates each painted with a pansy.
What is the main message of The Blue Lagoon?
The book suggests that innocence, love and happiness can grow in the simple life of nature. It also shows that beauty and danger live side by side, and that fear of death and wonder at birth are tied together.
Verwijs naar deze uitgave
Stacpoole, H. De Vere. The Blue Lagoon: A Romance. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-blue-lagoon-a-romance.
Stacpoole, H. D. V. (2026). The blue lagoon: A romance. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-blue-lagoon-a-romance (Original work published 1908)
Stacpoole, H. De Vere. The Blue Lagoon: A Romance. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-blue-lagoon-a-romance.
@book{stacpoole2026blue,
author = {Stacpoole, H. De Vere},
title = {The Blue Lagoon: A Romance},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-blue-lagoon-a-romance},
note = {First published 1908}
}
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