If there is anything that grabs the attention of an island lover more than a real private island it is a fictional private island. Even if you are not an island enthusiast, just think for a moment about all the books you have read, all of the movies and TV shows you have watched and how many of them have taken place on, or featured private islands. Read more below:

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I believe that the portrayal of islands in literature started our fascination with islands. Books like Gulliver’s Travels, The Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe all were published in a time when the seas were still a mysterious frontier rife with possibilities and adventure. Obviously islands played a huge role in these books and they became engraved in the collective societal consciousness as places of solitude, adventure and romance.

What makes human fascination with islands unique is that it has not been a generational obsession. Unlike most colonial interests, society’s obsession with islands has been adopted by successive generations. While island books of the past remain popular, new mediums such as film and television have continued to feature islands as places of wonder, escape and isolation. Films like Castaway, Lord of the Flies, Hell in the Pacific and Blue Lagoon, as well as TV programs like Survivor and LOST have all maintained humanities island interests.

I am left wondering what the future holds for private islands? I have no doubt that humanity will continue to be fascinated by these tiny atolls. I more interested in how the media will continue to endorse these properties. Real life simulators such as Second Life have already begun to sell their own virtual private islands. In addition with the presence of global warming threatening to eradicate many of our islands, I am left wondering if the private island of the future exists not in our oceans, but in our hard drives.

Click here for an extensive list of fictional private islands.