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A Pattern of Islands

[back cover]

page break

Stranger and funnier than fiction – the true story of an Englishman in the Pacific Islands

As an administrator in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Arthur Grimble lived among fishermen, sorcerers, fighters and poets – fascinating and lovable islanders who claimed descent from the Pandanus tree of the Lord. Describing their dances and legends, spells, rituals and ways of life, recounting his adoption into the Sun clan, fishing for tiger-sharks, grappling – as human bait – for octopus, and an encounter with black magic; Arthur Grimble has given us a popular classic – a warm, humorous autobiography, a weird and wonderful adventure story.

'He is a born raconteur' – Daily Mail

'His pages are enlivened with a gleaming humour which enhances the book's overwhelming attraction.

A triumph!' – Daily Telegraph

The cover shows one of the Gilbert Islands. Photograph by Charles Thompson.