Madol Duwa by Martin Wickramasinghe: Summary, Characters, Why It's Famous and Where to Buy
Last checked: 7 November 2026
Madol Duwa is Martin Wickramasinghe's 1947 novel about two boys who leave home and try to live by their own work on a mangrove island in southern Sri Lanka. The official bibliography records the Sinhala book as Madol Doova (Mangrove Island). Shop listings describe a long life in print and in translation; those sales claims belong to the publisher, not to an audited count. The story draws on the coastal landscape Wickramasinghe knew as a child — the reef-fringed sea, a large lake and the islands near Koggala — and pairs a child's-eye view of adult strictness with the adventure of leaving home.
Booxworm does not currently list this title. Readers looking for a print copy will find current Sinhala, English and Tamil editions on the Martin Wickramasinghe Trust official shop and at other Sri Lankan retailers checked below. This guide stays with facts from official pages and opened shop listings: the story in spoiler-light form, the named characters, why the book has stayed familiar, and how today's reprints differ by language and ISBN. It is a book page, not a general ebook guide.
Title spellings and meaning
English readers most often search for Madol Duwa. The official Martin Wickramasinghe bibliography lists Madol Doova (Mangrove Island) and dates it to 1947. The Trust's children's excerpt page uses Madol Doowa. The official Sinhala shop title is written මඩොල්දූව; some retailers write මඩොල් දූව, with a space.
Those variants all point to the same novel. The English subtitle Mangrove Island follows the official bibliography. The title names the place where the two central boys try to live away from adult control.
A spoiler-light summary
The opened official excerpt, translated by Ashley Halpe, is written in the first person. The narrator's father leaves him at a headmaster's house to study for an examination instead of taking him home for Sinhala New Year. The headmaster is Mr. Dharmasingha; his wife is Mrs. Dharmasingha. Children in the household include Somalatha and Gunadasa. Schoolfellows such as Piyadasa, who nicknames the narrator Gal-ibba, and Piyasena also appear. The passage shows adult seriousness around New Year customs and schoolwork, and a humorous, watchful child's voice.
English and Sinhala shop notes name Upali and Jinna as the two boys at the centre of the story. The official shop's Hindi listing describes two runaway boys who build a self-reliant life on a deserted mangrove island. English listings sometimes add a family name spelled Giniwella or Giniwelle; the spelling is not consistent across pages. Some English retailer notes mention a stepmother, or the early death of the narrator's mother, as part of the friction at home. That detail does not appear in the official excerpt opened for this check, so it is noted here as a retailer description rather than an official-site fact.
This summary stops before later turns. The book follows the boys as they leave home and try to live by their own labour on the island. How that experiment unfolds is best left to the novel itself.
A comment quoted on shop pages, attributed to Professor I. Scavetch of Bruno University, praises the courage, determination and vitality of the two central figures. That wording comes from retailer and publisher copy, not from an independent ranking in this article.
Key characters
Names below come from the official excerpt or from opened shop notes. Spellings vary; both forms are flagged where they do.
- Upali (උපාලි): named in English and Sinhala shop notes as one of the two boys who leave for the island.
- Jinna: named beside Upali in those shop notes, and paired with him in a later newspaper column that quotes the novel.
- The first-person narrator in the official excerpt: a schoolboy left at the headmaster's house. The opened passage does not print his name. Shop notes treat Upali as the central boy; readers of the full book can see how the voices line up.
- Mr. Dharmasingha: the headmaster. The official excerpt uses Dharmasingha; some other pages write Dharmasinghe.
- Mrs. Dharmasingha: the headmaster's wife.
- Somalatha and Gunadasa: children in the headmaster's household.
- Piyadasa and Piyasena: schoolfellows named in the excerpt.
Later secondary characters appear in some English synopses. They are left out here so the first reading stays spoiler-light.
Martin Wickramasinghe, briefly
Wickramasinghe was born on 29 May 1890 in Koggala, on Sri Lanka's southern coast between the reef-fringed sea and a large lake studded with islands. The official author page names him as the only son of Lamahewage Don Bastian Wickramasinghe and Magalle Balapitiya Liyanage Thochchohamy. His father died in 1901, and hardship forced him to leave Buonavista School. He worked as a book-keeper, wrote under the pen name “Hethu Vaadi” (Rationalist), joined Dinamina, became editor of Silumina and later of Dinamina, and resigned as Dinamina editor in 1946 — the year before Madol Doova appeared.
His first novel, Leela, was published in 1914. Gamperaliya (The Uprooted) followed in 1944, Madol Doova in 1947 and Yuganthaya in 1949. The official author page says Koggala's sea, lake, islands, flora, fauna and village life were the background of his early years and later appeared in his fiction. That is the relevant context for this book: a novelist writing from a southern landscape he had known since childhood, shortly after leaving daily newspaper editing.
He died on 23 July 1976. Current licensed reprints sold on the official shop are published by Sarasa (Pvt) Ltd.
Why the book has stayed familiar
The official bibliography lists translations of Madol Doova into Russian (1954), Chinese (1961), Rumanian (1962), Bulgarian (1964), English (1976), Dutch (1979), Tamil — Madol Theevu (Mangrove Island) (1993), French (1995) and Japanese (2002). The official shop's Sinhala copy says the book has been printed in nine languages and sold more than ten lakhs of copies (දශ ලක්ෂයකට වඩා). The English shop copy says it has “sold over a million copies in nine languages.” Treat both sentences as publisher and shop wording, not as an audited sales figure.
The official shop also sells a Hindi translation, priced at Rs 900 on 7 November 2026. That listing showed no ISBN or stock count. The bibliography table on the books page did not give a Hindi year for this title.
The Trust's official list records a feature film, Madol Doova (Mangrove Island), in 1976, and a Sinhala teledrama of the same English subtitle in 1994. The list does not name a director. Later accounts often credit Lester James Peries for the 1976 film; that name is not printed on the Trust's own film list.
A travel feature published in The Island on 9 August 2021, “Flight of the double sunrise,” describes a boat guide on Koggala Lake pointing out an island as “Madol Duwa… known well among schoolchildren who read Martin Wickremasinghe's literary classic.” That is a newspaper observation about a locally identified island and about the book's familiarity. It is not a Ministry of Education syllabus list, and it does not turn the novel into a documentary of one mapped island. The official author page already places Wickramasinghe's early years among Koggala's islands; the book belongs to that world.
Editions, ISBNs and print prices
The copies in shops now are Sarasa trade reprints, not the 1947 first printing. Prices and stock below are snapshots from 7 November 2026 and can change. Page counts also disagree across listings (138 on one Sinhala page; English notes variously 113, 137 or 139), so this article does not declare a single official length. Every row below is a print edition.
| Edition | ISBN | Price snapshot | Availability snapshot | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinhala, මඩොල්දූව | 978-955-0201-39-6 | Rs 525 | 98 in stock | Official shop |
| Sinhala, මඩොල් දූව | 978-955-0201-39-6 | Rs 470 (was Rs 525) | Out of stock | Katha.lk, 138 pages listed |
| English | 978-955-695-007-6 | Rs 425 | 97 in stock | Official shop. Translator: Ashley Halpe (the shop field currently says “Ashly Halpe”) |
| English | 978-955-695-007-6 | Rs 425 | In stock | M.D. Gunasena |
| Tamil, Madol Theeve | 978-955-0201-14-3 | Rs 325 | 11 in stock | Official shop. The listing names Sundaram Saumyam; the official bibliography title is Madol Theevu (1993) |
| Hindi | Not shown | Rs 900 | Not shown | Official shop |
| Older English record | 9555640106 / 9789555640107 | — | — | Google Books: Sarasa Limited, 2001, 139 pages, translator Ashley Halpē |
The current English trade ISBN is 978-955-695-007-6. The 2001 Google Books record shows an earlier English ISBN from the same publisher family. Seeing either number should not be confused with a digital file; both records describe print translations. A Sarasavi.lk product page did not open during this check (HTTP 403), so older Sarasavi prices are not repeated here.
Digital editions: not verified
This check did not verify a licensed digital edition — ebook, Kindle file or official PDF — on the official shop or the retailer pages that opened. Those pages present print books, with physical weights and stock counts. That is not the same as proving no licensed ebook exists anywhere.
If you arrived here after searching “madol duwa pdf” or “madol doova ebook,” the reliable copies confirmed above are printed books from the Trust shop and named retailers. For a general discussion of Sinhala reading apps and formats, not of this title, see Booxworm’s existing page on Sinhala book online reading. That page mentions Madol Doova only in passing.
Where to buy
Start with the Trust shop if you want the current official reprints:
- Sinhala edition, Rs 525 on 7 November 2026
- English edition, Rs 425, translated by Ashley Halpe
- Tamil edition, Rs 325
- Hindi edition, Rs 900
Confirm delivery terms on the shop itself. M.D. Gunasena listed the English reprint at Rs 425 and in stock on the same date. Katha.lk listed the Sinhala reprint at Rs 470 and out of stock.
Booxworm’s public store search for “madol duwa” did not return this book. If you would like the shop to look for a print copy, use Suggest a Book. That is a request, not a promise that the title will be sourced. Other Sinhala books are listed in the Sinhala collection. For a wider view of Sinhala reading, see Books in Sinhala. Practical shop-and-delivery advice is in Buy Books Online in Sri Lanka and Buying Books in Sri Lanka: The Complete Guide.
Booxworm’s shop is at 12/2 Abhaya Para, Kolannawa, Colombo 09, Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 8 pm, telephone +94 11 722 8305. The live site footer has listed free delivery on orders from Rs 6,000 and standard delivery of 2–5 working days; confirm both at checkout.
Frequently asked questions
How do you spell the title in English?
The highest-volume search spelling is Madol Duwa. The official bibliography writes Madol Doova, and the Trust’s excerpt page uses Madol Doowa. All three refer to the 1947 novel whose English subtitle is Mangrove Island.
What is Madol Duwa about, without spoilers?
Shop notes and the official Hindi listing describe two boys, Upali and Jinna, who leave home and try to live by their own work on a deserted mangrove island in southern Sri Lanka. An official excerpt shows an earlier stretch of boyhood under a headmaster’s roof, told in a first-person voice that notices adult rules with humour. Later events are left for the book.
Who are the main characters?
Shop notes name Upali and Jinna as the two central boys. The official excerpt names Mr. Dharmasingha (sometimes written Dharmasinghe), Mrs. Dharmasingha, Somalatha, Gunadasa, Piyadasa and Piyasena. English notes mention a stepmother or an early maternal death; that detail was not in the official excerpt opened for this check.
When was it first published?
The official bibliography dates Madol Doova (Mangrove Island) to 1947. The English translation by Ashley Halpe is listed as 1976, the same calendar year as Wickramasinghe’s death.
Is there an ebook or Kindle edition?
This check did not verify a licensed digital edition on the official shop or the opened retailer pages. The listings above are print. Prefer those named shops over unofficial files.
Where can I buy it in Sri Lanka?
On 7 November 2026 the official shop listed Sinhala at Rs 525, English at Rs 425, Tamil at Rs 325 and Hindi at Rs 900. M.D. Gunasena listed the English reprint at Rs 425, in stock. Katha.lk listed the Sinhala reprint at Rs 470, out of stock. Prices and availability change.
Does Booxworm sell Madol Duwa?
Not in the public catalogue checked for this article. You can ask via Suggest a Book.
Which language edition should I buy?
If you read Sinhala, the original-language reprint is ISBN 978-955-0201-39-6. The English translation by Ashley Halpe is ISBN 978-955-695-007-6. Tamil readers can look for Madol Theevu / Madol Theeve, ISBN 978-955-0201-14-3. A Hindi translation is sold on the official shop without a visible ISBN on the listing.
Was it filmed?
The official Trust list records a 1976 feature film and a 1994 teledrama, both titled Madol Doova (Mangrove Island) in English. The list does not name a director.
Print is the path this check could verify. The official shop is the clearest place to compare language editions. If you would rather ask a local bookshop to look, suggest the title to Booxworm or browse the bookshop blog for other buying guides. The book itself — two boys, a mangrove island, and the pull of independence — is still the reason people search the name.
For more legal reading options, see our guide to eBooks in Sri Lanka.