The Little Savage is a part of Frederick Marryat's collection of adventure novels, beloved by the likes of Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway. Marryat was a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic Wars, but retired to research and writing after the wars' end in 1815. He wrote dozens of novels, plays, short stories and essays inspired by his naval experiences. Originally published posthumously in 1848 and then re released in 1896, The Little Savage is about Frank, a young boy who has been stranded on a desert island with his father's murderer. Growing up on the island away from civilization and receiving brutal treatment from the murderer, Jackson, Frank acts like a "savage". The book follows Frank's overthrow of Jackson and his experience becoming civilized.