Isles of Despair

Isles of Despair is a 1947 historical novel by Ion Idriess based on the true story of Barbara Thomson, a white woman who was the sole survivor of a shipwreck and was raised by Coral Sea islanders, before being rescued in 1849.
It had a follow-up, The Wild White Man of Badu.

Critical reception

A reviewer in The Western Herald newspaper noted that, although this novel is based on an historic incident, "first and foremost this is a story. It is told with the ease and vividness, the directness and feeling for drama that are the true requisites of the story-teller."