«The Fearsome Island» by Albert Kinross

The Fearsome Island is an adventure fantasy novel by Albert Kinross.  The full title is The Fearsome Island - Being a Modern Rendering of the Narrative of one Silas Fordred, Master Mariner of Hythe, whose shipwreck and subsequent adventures are herein set forth. Also an appendix accounting in a rational manner for the seeming marvels that Silas Fordred encountered during his sojourn on the fearsome island of Don Diego Rodriguez.

No ordinary sailor's tale, this. Based allegedly on the real experiences of Silas Fordred, Master Mariner of Hythe, this is a story of shipwreck on an uncharted island and his supernatural adventures there with a witch, a hairy man, and various devilish devices and traps. The author, Kinross, adds an appendix purporting to explain the marvels which Fordred encountered.

Kinross claims to have stolen the sailor's original account from Hythe Town Hall while helping the Town Clerk to sort newly discovered old papers. This is credible, as it is well-known that there were many such documents rescued from destruction in the late nineteenth century. The names of Fordred and his shipmate Snoad are also old-established Hythe families. However, even if Fordred's account is mentioned in the annals of Hythe Borough, it is impossible to know how much was invented by Kinross. "Believe or doubt!" the author says…

The Fearsom Island was first published in 1896.

Total Running Time (TRT): 2 hours, 53 min. Reading by Ruth Golding.

Albert Kinross (1870-1929) was an English journalist, magazine editor and writer of novels, stories and articles.