Serpent in Paradise

Serpent in Paradise by Dea Birkett
Many readers and moviegoers are familiar with the story of Mutiny on the Bounty and most are aware that the mutineers eventually settled on a hard-to-find rock known as Pitcairn's Island in the South Pacific (hard to find because it had been charted incorrectly by the Royal Navy). There they remained undiscovered for about twenty years. 

In the interim, the European mutineers and their Tahitian slave/companions engaged in continuous violence, which resulted in the deaths of all but one of the original mutineers. When the British Navy discovered the island, the sole survivor of the Europeans was John Adams. As to the Tahitian's, the men were all dead. Nine native women were still alive, along with their numerous mixed race children. Several of them were the offspring of leading mutineer Fletcher Christian, most notably his first son, Thursday October Christian. How's that for quaint?  And there's quite a bit of "lore" surrounding this morsel of human history from the Hollywood alpha-male standpoint: Fletcher Christian, by all accounts a rather unappealing looking gentleman, was successively portrayed by Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Marlon Brando, and Mel Gibson. Marlon Brando went on to marry his Tahitian co-star and father children whose lives were eventually marked by violence.

Meanwhile, back at Pitcairn....Jump ahead almost 200 years to the present day. Our authoress, Dea Birkett, is overtaken by a sudden urge for an adventure, inspired by the Mel Gibson film "The Bounty" and heads for Pitcairn on a freighter. Something already smells "fishy" before the freighter arrives at Pitcairn, population now 48 persons, 49 counting the authoress. 

The islanders who are about to make Dea Burkitt's acquaintance are insular, somewhat inbred people, who have established a unique society. They are isolated and they like it that way. Enter our authoress, the protagonist and the antagonist rolled into one. Now the trouble begins. 

Very few persons are permitted to visit Pitcairn. Written applications are reviewed and very few persons have ever been accepted. The writer begins her South Sea adventure by fabricating her answers, completely misrepresenting her reasons for wishing to visit Pitcairn (she claims to be doing a study of their post office and philatelic output!) Once accepted and arrived, she begins to make mischief while accepting the island's hospitality. She knowingly beds a married local man, while ignoring the romantic attentions of a readily available alternative suitor. Does it take long for the entire populace (48 persons) to figure out they've been duped? Then what?

Birkett doesn't attempt to deny that the "serpent in paradise" of the title is self-referential. There are other snakes to be found on the island, but it's fair to say that Birkett is the worst of them. 

It's rather interesting to read a story where the person who tells it is the worst person within a radius of a few thousand miles. Actually, this is fascinating stuff. It's just hard to describe because Pitcairn is a society unlike any other in my recollection.  A healthy five star rating for this unusual escapade.