Authors Losing Control: The European Transformations of Henry Neville’s The Isle of Pines (1668)

Henry Neville’s utopian travel narrative The Isle of Pines, first published in London in June 1668, became an instant bestseller on the European market. Within a few months more than twenty foreign editions were printed in five western European languages, and numerous responses, commentaries, and adaptations followed over the years, leaving the reader wondering whether the story was fact, fiction, or something else entirely. This essay traces the complex transformations of this successful pamphlet as it traveled across the Continent in an attempt to shed new light on its contemporary impact and significance outside of England. In an attempt to shed new light on its contemporary impact and significance outside of England.