The Island Queen: or Dethroned by Fire and Water: a tale of the Southern Hemisphere (1885) is a novel written by Scottish author R.M. Ballantyne. The novel first appeared in Volume VI of Young England, an annual magazine published in London from 1880 to 1937. It was then published in paperback by J. Nisbet & Co. This novel was Ballantyne's 79th publication, written in the latter half of his career. The novel is a castaway / survivalist tale. It tells the story of two brothers and a sister who are stranded on one of the many islands of Oceania. The novel's major themes include 19th century British imperialism, the value of Christianity, and the development of social hierarchies.Ballantyne published the novel after having moved from Edinburgh to Harrow, a north London borough, to allow his children to finish school in 1873. Source: Wikipedia (en)