The Looe Island Story: An Illustrated History of St. George's Island [Paperback]

My attention was first directed to Looe (St. George's) Island by Ben Fogle's travel narrative OFFSHORE. He thought the 22-acre island off the coast of Cornwall at Looe worth noting because it was privately owned, the site having been acquired in the mid-1960s by sisters Evelyn and Babs Atkins. Evelyn has herself written two books on the subject, We Bought an Island and Tales from Our Cornish Island (Coronet Books).

Potentially, I think, the history and description of a small place can exert more pull than the same of a large place, perhaps because, from afar, the mind's eye of the reader can easily become more intimate with an area of smaller boundaries. Because of THE LOOE ISLAND STORY, I'd much rather visit that location than, say, New York City, though I've read that the latter has attractions worth seeing.

THE LOOE ISLAND STORY comprises only seventy pages (13 chapters) in the main body of text, plus another twenty-six pages in five appendices, plus a Bibliography. The main body covers such topics as the Atkins sisters, the island's name, the island's association with shipwrecks and smuggling, ghosts, rumored treasure caves, the island's (all but disappeared) 11th century chapel, the various inhabitants over the centuries, and the island's flora and fauna. There's also a brief "visitor tour" keyed to a map, the island being open to day trippers during periods of calm weather and seas; Looe Island was transferred to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust in 2004.

Author Mike Dunn makes extensive use of local and national archival records. That the book is so short is indicative of the fact that there's not a whole lot, relatively speaking, to be known about the place. There's a fair sprinkling of photos of the island, mostly taken from the mainland, dating from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, as well as some more or less recent shots of Evelyn and Babs and the exteriors of the current island buildings. Evelyn died in 1997 and Babs in 2004; the former is buried in West Looe, the latter on St. George's.

Perhaps the most interesting, and longest, of the sections, is Appendix Three, which expands on the nature and methods of the smugglers' trade and includes an interview with the "last of the smugglers", aged 96.

Appendix Four is the recipe for the Atkins' "Elderflower Champagne" with a picture of the pair seated at a table imbibing.

Appendix Five, a genealogical table of the "Descendants of Elizabeth Vening", is particularly helpful since Chapter Ten, "The Mewstone Connection", which deals with the island's shady residents during the smuggling heyday, is less than straightforward.

I'm deducting a star from the book's rating because it has virtually nothing to say about, much less images of, the three owners of the island between 1921 and 1964, i.e. the families of Corder, Kingerlee and Rawlins. Also, there's relatively little (Chapter 2) about the Atkins' period of residence. (Perhaps Dunn is leaving that story to Evelyn's two books.) Lastly, and most disappointingly to me in a volume that includes "illustrated" in the subtitle, there are no contemporary photographs of the interiors of the islands buildings nor of the island's varied topography.

The front cover of THE LOOE ISLAND STORY is a color aerial image of the entire island taken from the north which I've spent an unreasonable number of minutes examining with a magnifying lens. And then I gazed down on the spot from an Earth orbit perspective using Google Earth. Gee, do you think I'd like to visit?

After my mum and I visited Looe for a holiday and saw bits and pieces about the island I bought it for her when we got back - she loved it!

Anyone who loves the sea is fascinated by islands, smuggling, pirates and ghosts. St.George's Island, otherwise known as Looe Island, offers plenty to inspire the budding painter, ghosthunter or historian. Unlike many English islands, Looe Island remains very unspoilt and picturesque, allowing visitors during the summer months for a modest landing fee.

This book collects together the best of the Island's history, and presents it nicely. There's a little too much emphasis on the island's later inhabitants (is anyone really that interested?), at the sacrifice of the more interesting and lively characters who hide in the historical records.

I bought the book after discovering the island's existence via thishauntedland.co.uk, which suggested that a pagan chapel may have existed on the summit of the isle. It would be very interesting to go searching for this ancient monument, and this book may provide some interesting reading while travelling.