Adventure

Published in 1911, Adventure is an excellent example of one of London's South Sea novels. When David Sheldon becomes sick only the intervention of Joan Lackland saves his life. Sheldon is the proprietor of a coconut plantation of Guadalcanal in the Solomons and there's every likelihood that his illness will prompt his native workers to rebel and kill him. Lacklands unlooked for intervention averts disaster and together they work to resolve problems with the workers and how to manage his estate more effectively. The distinction between the two characters, Sheldon a chivalrous but mean Englishman and Lackland a liberated American, provides a certain romantic tension to contrast with the sense of insecurity imposed by the dangers inherent on the island.