When the first European explorers ventured into the unknown Pacific Ocean, their minds were filled with tales of remote, paradisiacal islands. Hopeful ideas of noble savages, ecological balance, and immense riches gave them the courage to search for a new world – even when faced with the unimaginable. The South Sea Island – A Geography of Pleasure is a journey through the history of ideas and literature over three centuries of European and American narratives about islands, oceans, and arc...

In the mid-19th century, intrepid explorers began to shine a light on the darkness of the deep. The mystique of what lay beneath the surface of the vast oceans inspired awe in aquarium enthusiasts, Decadent artists, and authors, including Jules Verne and Hans Christian Andersen. Ever since, books, films and visual arts have invited us to contemplate the sea as both the wellspring of all life and a resolutely alien world. "Wonders – A Literary History of the Deep Sea" recalls the era of und...