Island for Sale

Island for Sale (Anne Collins, Penguin) is the book you will read this term. Here is the summary and some interesting things to know about it.

Summary

A young Scotsman, Duncan McTavish, lives in a big castle with his dog, Jock, on a small Scottish island called Lana. He likes it, but as he cannot afford to pay his electricity bills, he has to sell the island. Mr Moneybags, an estate agent in London, finds a buyer: Leaping Larry, an American rock star who visits the island with his girlfriend, Roxanne. Roxanne hates the cold, dark castle. She is very angry, so they go back to California. Mr Moneybags doesn’t want to sell the castle now. Duncan is very unhappy. But then he meets Jean, a teacher who likes painting pictures of the island. Jean has an idea: tourists can stay at the castle and she can teach them to paint pictures. Duncan and Jean get married and live happily in the castle, which is now full of tourists.

Did you know that...?

Scotland: In northwest Europe, Scotland forms part of the United Kingdom. Apart from the mainland, it consists of over 790 islands. It has its own laws, education system and traditions, but it is not a sovereign state. It is very popular with tourists. 


Castles: Big ancient residences generally built in medieval times and owned by rich people. They are sometimes hired for special occasions (weddings, conferences) and are used by tourists interested in a different kind of holiday.

Islands for sale: In some countries islands are not sold as private property, as they are part of the national territory.

Lifestyles: Duncan leads a simple life, though he is the owner of the island. Larry and Roxanne have a different idea of what an interesting life is.

We will start reading Island for Sale the first week of November!!