Treasure Island

By Robert Louis Stevenson and Mint Editions

A mysterious visitor to his parent’s inn precipitates a chain of events that plunges Jim Hawkins into an unforgettable adventure among ruthless pirates seeking a fabulous treasure hidden on a desert island.

Initially serialized in a magazine, Treasure Island first appeared as a book in 1883. Narrated primarily by young Jim Hawkins, the book can be seen as a coming of age story or a thriller for younger readers, but it is a swashbuckling delight for most anyone willing to pick it up. One of the central pleasures of the book is the indelible character of Long John Silver. Manipulative, self-centered, and greedy enough to be purely a villain, he proves such an engaging character that it is hard to feel much ill will toward him. With his missing leg, parrot, and treasure map, Silver is the forefather of countless fictional pirates of prose and film. Treasure Island is, arguably, both the genesis and zenith of the pirate adventure story. The novel has been repeatedly adapted to stage, radio, film and television. First filmed in 1918, Treasure Island has been the subject of more than fifty movies and has been translated into science fiction, western, anime and a feature for Jim Henson’s Muppets. All of this springs from the enduring base of Stevenson’s original novel. This is pure storytelling at its most ageless, powerful and beguiling.

With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Treasure Island is both modern and readable.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mint Editions
• Release date: Sep 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781513265230

Robert Louis Stevenson

Poet and novelist Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was the author of a number of classic books for young readers, including Treasure Island , Kidnapped, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Mr. Stevenson was often ill as a child and spent much of his youth confined to his nursery, where he first began to compose stories even before he could read, and where he was cared for by his nanny, Alison Cunningham, to whom A Child's Garden of Verses is dedicated.

Book preview

PART I

THE OLD BUCCANEER

Chapter 1

THE OLD SEA-DOG AT THE ADMIRAL BENBOW

Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen having asked me to write down the whole particulars about Treasure Island, from the beginning to the end, keeping nothing back but the bearings of the island, and that only because there is still treasure not yet lifted, I take up my pen in the year of grace 17__ and go back to the time when my father kept the Admiral Benbow inn and the brown old seaman with the sabre cut first took up his lodging under our roof.

I remember him as if it were yesterday, as he came plodding to the inn door, his sea-chest following behind him in a hand-barrow—a tall, strong, heavy, nut-brown man, his tarry pigtail falling over the shoulder of his soiled blue coat, his hands ragged and scarred, with black, broken nails, and the sabre cut across one cheek, a dirty, livid white. I remember him looking round the cover and whistling to himself as he did so, and then breaking out in that old sea-song that he sang so often afterwards:

"Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest—

Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"

in the high, old tottering voice that seemed to have been tuned and broken at the capstan bars. Then he rapped on the door with a bit of stick like a handspike that he carried, and when my father appeared, called roughly for a glass of rum. This, when it was brought to him, he drank slowly, like a connoisseur, lingering on the taste and still looking about him at the cliffs and up at our signboard.

This is a handy cove, says he at length; and a pleasant sittyated grog-shop. Much company, mate?

My father told him no, very little company, the more was the pity.

Well, then, said he, this is the berth for me. Here you, matey, he cried to the man who trundled the barrow; bring up alongside and help up my chest. I’ll stay here a bit, he continued. I’m a plain man; rum and bacon and eggs is what I want, and that head up there for to watch ships off. What you mought call me? You mought call me captain. Oh, I see what you’re at—there; and he threw down three or four gold pieces on the threshold. You can tell me when I’ve worked through that, says he, looking as fierce as a commander.

And indeed bad as his clothes were and coarsely as he spoke, he had none of the appearance of a man who sailed before the mast, but seemed like a mate or skipper accustomed to be obeyed or to strike. The man who came with the barrow told us the mail had set him down the morning before at the Royal George, that he had inquired what inns there were along the coast, and hearing ours well spoken of, I suppose, and described as lonely, had chosen it from the others for his place of residence. And that was all we could learn of our guest.

He was a very silent man by custom. All day he hung round the cove or upon the cliffs with a brass telescope; all evening he sat in a corner of the parlour next the fire and drank rum and water very strong. Mostly he would not speak when spoken to, only look up sudden and fierce and blow through his nose like a fog-horn; and we and the people who came about our house soon learned to let him be. Every day when he came back from his stroll he would ask if any seafaring men had gone by along the road. At first we thought it was the want of company of his own kind that made him ask this question, but at last we began to see he was desirous to avoid them. When a seaman did put up at the Admiral Benbow (as now and then some did, making by the coast road for Bristol) he would look in at him through the curtained door before he entered the parlour; and he was always sure to be as silent as a mouse when any such was present. For me, at least, there was no secret about the matter, for I was, in a way, a sharer in his alarms. He had taken me aside one day and promised me a silver fourpenny on the first of every month if I would only keep my weather-eye open for a seafaring man with one leg and let him know the moment he appeared. Often enough when the first of the month came round and I applied to him for my wage, he would only blow through his nose at me and stare me down, but before the week was out he was sure to think better of it, bring me my four-penny piece, and repeat his orders to look out for the seafaring man with one leg.

How that personage haunted my dreams, I need scarcely tell you. On stormy nights, when the wind shook the four corners of the house and the surf roared along the cove and up the cliffs, I would see him in a thousand forms, and with a thousand diabolical expressions. Now the leg would be cut off at the knee, now at the hip; now he was a monstrous kind of a creature who had never had but the one leg, and that in the middle of his body. To see him leap and run and pursue me over hedge and ditch was the worst of nightmares. And altogether I paid pretty dear for my monthly fourpenny piece, in the shape of these abominable fancies.

But though I was so terrified by the idea of the seafaring man with one leg, I was far less afraid of the captain himself than anybody else who knew him. There were nights when he took a deal more rum and water than his head would carry; and then he would sometimes sit and sing his wicked, old, wild sea-songs, minding nobody; but sometimes he would call for glasses round and force all the trembling company to listen to his stories or bear a chorus to his singing. Often I have heard the house shaking with Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum, all the neighbours joining in for dear life, with the fear of death upon them, and each singing louder than the other to avoid remark. For in these fits he was the most overriding companion ever known; he would slap his hand on the table for silence all round; he would fly up in a passion of anger at a question, or sometimes because none was put, and so he judged the company was not following his story. Nor would he allow anyone to leave the inn till he had drunk himself sleepy and reeled off to bed.

His stories were what frightened people worst of all. Dreadful stories they were—about hanging, and walking the plank, and storms at sea, and the Dry Tortugas, and wild deeds and places on the Spanish Main. By his own account he must have lived his life among some of the wickedest men that God ever allowed upon the sea, and the language in which he told these stories shocked our plain country people almost as much as the crimes that he described. My father was always saying the inn would be ruined, for people would soon cease coming there to be tyrannized over and put down, and sent shivering to their beds; but I really believe his presence did us good. People were frightened at the time, but on looking back they rather liked it; it was a fine excitement in a quiet country life, and there was even a party of the younger men who pretended to admire him, calling him a true sea-dog and a real old salt and such like names, and saying there was the sort of man that made England terrible at sea.

In one way, indeed, he bade fair to ruin us, for he kept on staying week after week, and at last month after month, so that all the money had been long exhausted, and still my father never plucked up the heart to insist on having more. If ever he mentioned it, the captain blew through his nose so loudly that you might say he roared, and stared my poor father out of the room. I have seen him wringing his hands after such a rebuff, and I am sure the annoyance and the terror he lived in must have greatly hastened his early and unhappy death.

All the time he lived with us the captain made no change whatever in his dress but to buy some stockings from a hawker. One of the cocks of his hat having fallen down, he let it hang from that day forth, though it was a great annoyance when it blew. I remember the appearance of his coat, which he patched himself upstairs in his room, and which, before the end, was nothing but patches. He never wrote or received a letter, and he never spoke with any but the neighbours, and with these, for the most part, only when drunk on rum. The great sea-chest none of us had ever seen open.

He was only once crossed, and that was towards the end, when my poor father was far gone in a decline that took him off. Dr. Livesey came late one afternoon to see the patient, took a bit of dinner from my mother, and went into the parlour to smoke a pipe until his horse should come down from the hamlet, for we had no stabling at the old Benbow. I followed him in, and I remember observing the contrast the neat, bright doctor, with his powder as white as snow and his bright, black eyes and pleasant manners, made with the coltish country folk, and above all, with that filthy, heavy, bleared scarecrow of a pirate of ours, sitting, far gone in rum, with his arms on the table. Suddenly he—the captain, that is—began to pipe up his eternal song:

"Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest—

Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

Drink and the devil had done for the rest—

Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"

At first I had supposed the dead man’s chest to be that identical big box of his upstairs in the front room, and the thought had been mingled in my nightmares with that of the one-legged seafaring man. But by this time we had all long ceased to pay any particular notice to the song; it was new, that night, to nobody but Dr. Livesey, and on him I observed it did not produce an agreeable effect, for he looked up for a moment quite angrily before he went on with his talk to old Taylor, the gardener, on a new cure for the rheumatics. In the meantime, the captain gradually brightened up at his own music, and at last flapped his hand upon the table before him in a way we all knew to mean silence. The voices stopped at once, all but Dr. Livesey’s; he went on as before speaking clear and kind and drawing briskly at his pipe between every word or two. The captain glared at him for a while, flapped his hand again, glared still harder, and at last broke out with a villainous, low oath, Silence, there, between decks!

Were you addressing me, sir? says the doctor; and when the ruffian had told him, with another oath, that this was so, I have only one thing to say to you, sir, replies the doctor, that if you keep on drinking rum, the world will soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel!

The old fellow’s fury was awful. He sprang to his feet, drew and opened a sailor’s clasp-knife, and balancing it open on the palm of his hand, threatened to pin the doctor to the wall.

The doctor never so much as moved. He spoke to him as before, over his shoulder and in the same tone of voice, rather high, so that all the room might hear, but perfectly calm and steady: If you do not put that knife this instant in your pocket, I promise, upon my honour, you shall hang at the next assizes.

Then followed a battle of looks between them, but the captain soon knuckled under, put up his weapon, and resumed his seat, grumbling like a beaten dog.

And now, sir, continued the doctor, since I now know there’s such a fellow in my district, you may count I’ll have an eye upon you day and night. I’m not a doctor only; I’m a magistrate; and if I catch a breath of complaint against you, if it’s only for a piece of incivility like tonight’s, I’ll take effectual means to have you hunted down and routed out of this. Let that suffice.

Soon after, Dr. Livesey’s horse came to the door and he rode away, but the captain held his peace that evening, and for many evenings to come.

Chapter 2

BLACK DOG APPEARS AND DISAPPEARS

It was not very long after this that there occurred the first of the mysterious events that rid us at last of the captain, though not, as you will see, of his affairs. It was a bitter cold winter, with long, hard frosts and heavy gales; and it was plain from the first that my poor father was little likely to see the spring. He sank daily, and my mother and I had all the inn upon our hands, and were kept busy enough without paying much regard to our unpleasant guest.

It was one January morning, very early—a pinching, frosty morning—the cove all grey with hoar-frost, the ripple lapping softly on the stones, the sun still low and only touching the hilltops and shining far to seaward. The captain had risen earlier than usual and set out down the beach, his cutlass swinging under the broad skirts of the old blue coat, his brass telescope under his arm, his hat tilted back upon his head. I remember his breath hanging like smoke in his wake as he strode off, and the last sound I heard of him as he turned the big rock was a loud snort of indignation, as though his mind was still running upon Dr. Livesey.

Well, mother was upstairs with father and I was laying the breakfast-table against the captain’s return when the parlour door opened and a man stepped in on whom I had never set my eyes before. He was a pale, tallowy creature, wanting two fingers of the left hand, and though he wore a cutlass, he did not look much like a fighter. I had always my eye open for seafaring men, with one leg or two, and I remember this one puzzled me. He was not sailorly, and yet he had a smack of the sea about him too.

I asked him what was for his service, and he said he would take rum; but as I was going out of the room to fetch it, he sat down upon a table and motioned me to draw near. I paused where I was, with my napkin in my hand.

Come here, sonny, says he. Come nearer here.

I took a step nearer.

Is this here table for my mate Bill? he asked with a kind of leer.

I told him I did not know his mate Bill, and this was for a person who stayed in our house whom we called the captain.

Well, said he, my mate Bill would be called the captain, as like as not. He has a cut on one cheek and a mighty pleasant way with him, particularly in drink, has my mate Bill. We’ll put it, for argument like, that your captain has a cut on one cheek—and we’ll put it, if you like, that that cheek’s the right one. Ah, well! I told you. Now, is my mate Bill in this here house?

I told him he was out walking.

Which way, sonny? Which way is he gone?

And when I had pointed out the rock and told him how the captain was likely to return, and how soon, and answered a few other questions, Ah, said he, this’ll be as good as drink to my mate Bill.

The expression of his face as he said these words was not at all pleasant, and I had my own reasons for thinking that the stranger was mistaken, even supposing he meant what he said. But it was no affair of mine, I thought; and besides, it was difficult to know what to do. The stranger kept hanging about just inside the inn door, peering round the corner like a cat waiting for a mouse. Once I stepped out myself into the road, but he immediately called me back, and as I did not obey quick enough for his fancy, a most horrible change came over his tallowy face, and he ordered me in with an oath that made me jump. As soon as I was back again he returned to his former manner, half fawning, half sneering, patted me on the shoulder, told me I was a good boy and he had taken quite a fancy to me. I have a son of my own, said he, as like you as two blocks, and he’s all the pride of my ’art. But the great thing for boys is discipline, sonny—discipline. Now, if you had sailed along of Bill, you wouldn’t have stood there to be spoke to twice—not you. That was never Bill’s way, nor the way of sich as sailed with him. And here, sure enough, is my mate Bill, with a spy-glass under his arm, bless his old ’art, to be sure. You and me’ll just go back into the parlour, sonny, and get behind the door, and we’ll give Bill a little surprise—bless his ’art, I say again.

So saying, the stranger backed along with me into the parlour and put me behind him in the corner so that we were both hidden by the open door. I was very uneasy and alarmed, as you may fancy, and it rather added to my fears to observe that the stranger was certainly frightened himself. He cleared the hilt of his cutlass and loosened the blade in the sheath; and all the time we were waiting there he kept swallowing as if he felt what we used to call a lump in the throat.

At last in strode the captain, slammed the door behind him, without looking to the right or left, and marched straight across the room to where his breakfast awaited him.

Bill, said the stranger in a voice that I thought he had tried to make bold and big.

The captain spun round on his heel and fronted us; all the brown had gone out of his face, and even his nose was blue; he had the look of a man who sees a ghost, or the evil one, or something worse, if anything can be; and upon my word, I felt sorry to see him all in a moment turn so old and sick.

Come, Bill, you know me; you know an old shipmate, Bill, surely, said the stranger.

The captain made a sort of gasp.

Black Dog! said he.

And who else? returned the other, getting more at his ease. Black Dog as ever was, come for to see his old shipmate Billy, at the Admiral Benbow inn. Ah, Bill, Bill, we have seen a sight of times, us two, since I lost them two talons, holding up his mutilated hand.

Now, look here, said the captain; you’ve run me down; here I am; well, then, speak up; what is it?

That’s you, Bill, returned Black Dog, you’re in the right of it, Billy. I’ll have a glass of rum from this dear child here, as I’ve took such a liking to; and we’ll sit down, if you please, and talk square, like old shipmates.

When I returned with the rum, they were already seated on either side of the captain’s breakfast-table—Black Dog next to the door and sitting sideways so as to have

Reviews for Treasure Island

[caseybp · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book that gave us our mythical idea of pirates. Such a great story! One of the best novels I have ever read!

[zentasy72 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book contains everything you could expect from a story like this. Although this is one of the well-known classics, I had not read it yet. I am very happy that I have done so now.

The story follows Jim Hawkins who lives with his mother in the "Admiral Benbow" inn in a seaside town. When pirate Bill, who is a client at the inn, leaves a treasure map after his death, Jim sets off on an adventure to find the treasure. It is written in short chapters and after each chapter you want to know what Stevenson has in store for Hawkins and co. Because of the interesting story and the short chapters I read this fairly quickly.

If you have not yet become acquainted with this classic, it is highly recommended.

[toby.neal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fun and wonderfully told adventure story. It’s amazing how much of piracy in pop culture owes to Robert Louis Stevenson.

[larryking1-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So there I was, drifting in Pandemic Land, wondering what to read next, when the soft dulcet voice of Lou Reed drifted into my sullen consciousness: "I wish that I'd sailed the darkened seasOn a great big clipper shipGoing from this land here to thatOn a sailor's suit and cap..." And, then, right after that, this early Dylan lyric came crashing through the Pandemic Mayhem: "Haul on the bowline, we sang that melody...like all tough sailors do, when they're far away at sea!" In a moment, the die was cast. I knew that the next book I would read, or reread rather, would be Treasure Island, one that I read some, what, forty years ago, as a mere child? It was a great idea! What a treat! What pleasure! And the fact that the back cover said, "For children, aged 10-14," discouraged me not a whit! To make matters even better, it so happened that my edition was a facsimile of a 1911 one, illustrated by one NC Wyeth, the father of the very Andrew (Mansplain Alert!), who painted Christina's World (and not to forget the voluptuous Helga). But I digress. This adventure story was an unalloyed delight, a story of intrigue, treachery, courage, and a cast of characters right out of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland! I can say no more save this: English literature is awash (as we pirates say) with secondary characters of the highest order: Holmes' Dr Watson, Dickens Madame Defarge, King Arthur's Merlin, Alice's Cheshire Cat, and so on...so allow me to introduce another one, the charismatic Long John Silver, the humble, affable ship's cook in this gripping yarn...or was he only a cook? Read it to find out!

[amelia_smith-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's a classic, and as such I couldn't shake the feeling that I was going to be quizzed on it later. I must have read this when I was a kid, but if so, it was so long ago that I'd forgotten almost everything about the story. Reading it as an adult, I was thrown off by some unrealistic/inconsistent character behavior, but on the whole I wish I'd read it earlier and more often!

[kaleoc.b1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Treasure island is a book about a boy named Jim Hawkins. Jim started in an inn with his mother. As Jim was at the in other pirates that came warned Jim about the pirate with a peg leg. Later on Jim found a treasure map in one of the pirate's chest. afterward Jim left with a doctor, a pirate, and the pirates crew to the island. After the crew and Jim got to the island the Captain realized that the map was replaced with a fake one not showing where the treasure was hidden. Later on exploring the island Jim met a man named Ben Gunn who lived on the island for 3 years. Soon after Jim met the peg leg pirate that was named long john who went by the nickname Silver. Later silver attacked Jim's ship and reveled that he had the real map.Lastly following the real map the crew and Jim found that soon before another group of pirates already took the treasure ,so the captain took the crew and Jim Hawkins back home.I enjoyed the book and the story.The problem was that I felt that the book had some down sides. The things I liked about the book was that the book had one main goal that all the people had. Another thing I liked was the plot twist at the end where the treasure wasn't there when the crew and Jim checked because other pirates already took it. A thing i thought was cool was that in the story most of the characters are mentioned or connected in some way. A thing I disliked about the book was that because there was only one goal it seemed to me that the entire book was really slow. Lastly another thing I disliked was that I expected more action and adventure from the book because it is a book about treasure and traveling. If you do not like a book that is slow and and very much action I would not recommend this book

[vibrantminds · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jim Hawkins is running an inn with his parents when an old drunk captain, Billy Bones, over stays his welcome and eventually dies on their premises after being confronted by other sailors. Jim knows the captain had a chest and ransacks it and finds a map. After fleeing he comes in contact with Captain Smollett and they decide together to go after the treasure which is located on an island. They hire a crew one of which is Long John Silver but during the voyage the crew headed by Long John, mutinies. Once on the island the captain and a few others grab supplies and run. There are a few scourges between the two parties and many are left dead or injured. Jim scours the island finds a lost sailor, Ben Gunn, who had been left by Billy Bones. Ben has been alone on the island and little does everyone know he has found the treasure and hidden it elsewhere. Jim also recovers the ship which has been left unattended minus one sailor who he eventually kills. The mutineers discover the loss of the treasure and go crazy eventually allowing the captain and his remaining crew to get to the ship, collect the treasure hidden by Ben, who has now joined them, and set sail back to England. Long John Silver also rejoins them and by orders from England the captain can do nothing to him but along their journey home Long John Silver abandons the ship and is never seen again. The remaining crew return home and a few take advantage of their new found wealth while others flounder it. A classic tale of the good guys triumphing and conquering to the end.

[engpunk77 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Chapter 7: We're alternating reading and listening to it on audio in the car. So far, Morgan prefers my reading (even though the audio is EXCELLENT--highly recommended) because he says the accents are hard to understand and there's no commentary from mom, so I guess we'll be switching to only read-aloud from the book. I can't believe the difference in readability between this classic and today's novels aimed at the same target age-group. I'm not sure that my 8th graders could handle this one. A true testament to how simplified our language has become and how low are standards have gone. Anyway, my 9-year-old is fascinated with the story, so far, even more than with the Percy Jackson series, but he couldn't have enjoyed it as an independent read.

Update: We sort of gave up on reading it--it was much better on CD (I didn't know how to pronounce most of the boring sailing terms and I could never sound like a good Long John Silver like the actor on the tape). My son needed paraphrasing and commentary so often that I had to realize that this was far beyond his level of comprehension, but I did enjoy it. I feel like I hadn't really missed anything not having read it in my childhood because it's alluded to so often and the characters are so part of our culture that I pretty much already knew the story. Overall--it was a fun read/listen, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

[philsyphe · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Think I read this at primary school, though it may have been early days at secondary school, so will say circa 1986 as a guess. Certainly enjoyed it at the time, as I was always into this type of tale, along with watching several adaptations of this book. Unsure whether I'd appreciate it as much if I read this as an adult, but either way it deserves at least four stars.

[michael8xolotl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well enough entertaining, says I.

[sushicat-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Billy Bones, former pirate and a drunk, has taken residence at the inn of Jim Hawkins' father. He's hiding out from his former comrades who want the treasure map he's hiding. When he dies suddenly, Jim Hawkins finds the map which starts him on a sea voyage to recover the treasure. Of course the pirates are on it from the start and it takes quite some adventures and luck to succeed.
This must be the source of all these treasure hunts and pirate adventures. It was a fast and enjoyable romp, with likable characters and villains that get their just deserts. I liked it more than expected - even though I kind of knew the story, the details of the tale were fresh and entertaining.

[theeditrix · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Depressing, and occasionally surprising violent.

It starts off in the same pattern of any children's adventure or fantasy novel. An ordinary boy, living a rather humdrum life, finds himself in the centre of some extraordinary events that lead to him being swept away on a great adventure.

However, the adventure itself isn't the colourful, intoxicating affair we might expect. Treasure Island itself, far from being the beautiful Caribbean island we expect, turns out to be a hostile, oppressive place - the very air of which is suffocating for both fictional character and reader alike.

There is no romanticising the pirate's profession here. The pirates are simply shown as regular crooks who want to get rich quick! Stevenson does create a couple of genuinely scary villains, however, in John Silver and Captain Flint. We never actually meet Flint, but the memory of his terrible deeds echoes throughout the book.

It is a boys book, there's no doubt about that. I am not in this book's target demographic or gender! (There are quite literally NO females in this book, with the exception of Jim Hawkins' mother!) I found it a slow, dull read at times, but I struggled through (after a long hiatus in the middle during which I indulged in a couple of Georgette Heyers) and I am glad I did. It is a good book, albeit not my thing at all. I did, however, find it interesting as a:

*Character study, particularly of Long John Silver, whose - ahem - forceful personality dominates the book. I also found the extraordinary relationship between Jim and John fascinating.

*Coming of age story. Jim undergoes some extreme tests of character, and shows amazing maturity for his age (how old is he supposed to be? 12?). Nonetheless, he did and saw things that no child his age should have to be exposed to. Will there be repercussions later on in life? He survived through some terrible trials, and emerged with his moral integrity intact, but will he also bear scars from his experiences on Treasure Island? It's a short little book, and much is left unsaid. The fate of all the major characters upon their return to England is revealed at the end of the book. All the major characters, except Jim himself!

[bicyclewriter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fun classic. Highly recommend for every adolescent boy on earth!

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I just really had trouble getting into this. The characters were so two-dimensional and the "action" went from a lot of talking to a lot of killing and back to a lot of talking. Not my cuppa Joe.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When an old seaman named Billy Bones comes to stay at the Admiral Benbow Inn run by Jim Hawkins and his parents, the young English boy finds himself unexpectedly caught up in an exciting adventure involving pirates and hidden treasure. Enlisted in the local squire's quest to find the treasure buried on the eponymous Treasure Island, Jim becomes a cabin boy on the voyage out, encountering treachery and dangers he did not anticipate...Like many children's classics of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Treasure Island was first published serially, in the Young Folks magazine, before being released in book form in 1883. An instant success, it has remained immensely popular ever since, published in innumerable editions, and frequently adapted for stage, film and television. Somehow, despite being well aware of it since childhood, I had never picked it up, until it was assigned as one of our texts in a class I took during the course of my masters. I'm so happy that I finally did get to it, as I found it immensely engrossing and entertaining. Atmospheric, exciting, it immediately grabs hold of the reader, and takes them along on an extraordinary adventure. The themes here are fascinating, and led me to include the book in a paper I wrote on the island as an example of the 'lapsed topos,' as envisioned by Jane Suzanne Carroll, in her Landscape in Children's Literature. Recommended to all readers who enjoy adventure stories, or who love tales of seafaring and pirates.

[smiler69 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I should say straight away that I'm not a big fan of buccaneering adventures and that I mostly listened to this audiobook because Treasure Island has been so influential and has been adapted and copied in so many ways that I wanted to know what the original was like. It's a great adventure, and probably the kind of fantasy many boys have growing up. Alfred Molina is an excellent narrator. In the end, I enjoyed, but no more.

[ncgraham_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I was a child I would often peruse a little pamphlet my parents owned. It was titled Hand that Rocks the Cradle and featured “a select list of books to read to children.” Most of the commentary about the selections was straightforward and a little bit dull, but I’ve never forgotten what Mr. Bluedom had to say about Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.WARNING: If you read this book you may not be able to enjoy any other book again because you will subconsciously compare it to the perfection of this book and always find it lacking.NOTE 1: If you read this book and find it does not captivate you, then there’s no hope for you, and you may look upon yourself as a truly sorry case.NOTE 2: If you look up the word “adventure” you will find listed in the dictionary as its definition “circumstances that follow the plot of Treasure Island.”As it turns out, I have read and enjoyed many books since my dad first read Treasure Island aloud to me many years ago, but nevertheless there is some truth to what Bluedom wrote. Certainly Treasure Island is the essential pirate story, and was instrumental in creating the modern mythos of the backstabbing buccaneer. But I would give it a higher accolade than that, and say that it is one of those great books that attains perfection within the bounds of its genre and, in doing so, transcends the genre. Thus, though it is often referred to as a “boy’s adventure story,” it can be enjoyed at all ages. Not all of my childhood favorites have held up as I’ve grown older, but this has.One of the reasons is Stevenson’s writing. It’s perfect. As G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “he seemed to pick the right word up on the point of his pen … there was a kind of swordsmanship about it.” While his prose may have been richer in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the man always had an unfailing sense of atmosphere, and here every paragraph seems to be steeped in sea salt. I find the haunting introduction of “Captain” Billy Bones particularly well done:I remember him as if it were yesterday, as he came plodding to the inn door, his sea-chest following behind him in a hand-barrow; a tall, strong, heavy nut-brown man; his tarry pigtail falling over the shoulders of his soiled blue coat; his hands ragged and scarred, with black, broken nails; and the sabre cut across one cheek, a dirty, livid white.And then there is Long John Silver, one of those larger-than-life figures who has long since assumed a life beyond what his author intended for him. We tend to think of Silver now as being menacing from the very start of the story (due, no doubt, to actors such as Orson Welles and Tim Curry playing the role on screen), but he is first introduced to us as a lovable old cook with impeccable manners … and he retains those impeccable manners right up until the end of the book, with only occasional glimpses of his true ruthlessness. The conversations between him and Jim Hawkins (our narrator/hero, an honest and likeable lad) are masterpieces of manipulative wordplay.My favorite part of the book, however, has to be the “Israel Hands” chapter. The situation is very complicated, and the tension incredible. Here are two characters who must work together to safely navigate a ship. At the same time, Jim knows that the wounded Israel is armed and plotting to kill him. And as they work, they talk about ghosts, morality, and the afterlife.”Well,” said I, “I’ll cut you some tobacco; but if I was you and thought myself so badly, I would go to my prayers, like a Christian man.”“Why?” said he. “Now, you tell me why.”“Why?” I cried. “You were asking me just now about the dead. You’ve broken your trust; you’ve lived in sin and lies and blood; there’s a man you killed lying at your feet this moment; and you ask me why! For God's mercy, Mr. Hands, that’s why.”My only complaint with the book is that the ending is rushed and less exciting than I remember. But that is a minor flaw. I could go on and on about Treasure Island, but I’ll spare you. If you wish to know more, you must read it yourself.

[booksfordinner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When people are amazed that the Harry Potter books are for kids but they are fun for any age, I giggle and think about this book; Ms. Rowling was not the first.

[corinneblackmer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A beautifully rendered and surprisingly complex and morally ambivalent adventure tale about magical (if horrid) places like Treasure Island. A great rendering of fantasy and so convincing about the heroic role that a young man can play that one might forgive the bosh about "God save the Queen," English patriotism, and true men.

[superphoenix_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An all time favorite. it has everything in it that goes to make a good book - i think everyone should read this book

[slarsoncollins · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this story the first time around. I "bought" it again once I got my kindle and thoroughly enjoyed reading it for a second time. The tale is one of a young man on a quest for gold, surrounded by pirates and danger. Some of the terminology may be difficult for kids, but the overall story is fantastic even if a few comments or descriptions are lost on them.

[novak_13 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The original and ultimate sea-faring pirate adventure. Just re-read it on Kindle 2011. Perfect. Nothing comes near it.

[jannes_16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Possibly a bit dated and prachy when it comes to duty, patriotism, obedience and all that muck. Still, it's a wonderful and beautifully written adventure, and Long John Silver remains one on the most intriguing characters in modern literature.Comtemporary writers should take heed: you don't need 600+ pages to create an engrossing and huge adventure. Stevenson does with 200 pages what most genre writers today fails to do with endless multi-volume series.

[joybee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good Adventure. The language was a little hard to follow in some places, but still a good read.

[drt_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The next book was Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenon. A young boy, Jim Hawkins, lived quietly by the sea with his parents in an the Admiral Benbow inn. One day, a stranger moved into the Inn, dropped a few gold coins as payment for the room and he told them, “This should cover me for awhile-let me know when that payment runs out” (that is my paraphrase). The stranger wanted to stay far enough from shore but close enough to see the boats come in and out. When more payment was due, the owner would ask him to pay only to get a loud snorts and a growling stair from the stranger. He never paid anymore for the Rum or the room. The stranger was actually Billy Bones. They all sailed with Captain Flint, a feared pirate that sailed the seven seas. Billy Bones did not have much; he carried an old sea chest, a love for Rum, and some gold coins. He asked Jim to watch for a one legged man. Soon came other pirates in search of the pirate’s treasure map. The pirates gave Mr. Bones the “black spot” and he fought with another pirate. He died before they killed him. Jim’s father died too and left him and his mother alone. After the death’s, Jim searches Billy Bones and the Chest and he finds the treasure map. He trusted Dr. Livesey, the local physician and the local legal magistrate. The Squire John Trelawney was naïve. The Doc warns them not to talk much about this knowing the danger involved. They eventually get the Hispaniola a great ship and a crew. Capt’n Flint is also the name of Silver’s parrot. I’m writing too much so I’ll finish quickly. In short, the cut throat pirate, Long John Silver, was in the crew and fought and fought to get the treasure. The squire did talk too much and let the cat out of the bag.Jim serves as the cabin boy. He hid in the apple barrel and heard the pirate’s plans to find the treasure then kill all those that stand in their way. We find Ben Gunn on the island. He’d been there for years after being marooned there. He was semi nuts but had enough wherewithal to know how much to share and how much to help little Jim. Jim ran away and worked to the best of his ability hiding and fighting and taking the Hispaniola and beaches it in a hidden site. He fought Hands and sent him to Davie Jones locker. He grows up quickly and is able to make it through. I don’t want to say what happed to the treasure for fear that some of you may not have read it yet. So go read it. It’s 336 pages. I found it pretty predictable but that is common. I enjoyed this book.

[kaulsu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this aloud to my son twenty years ago--and could remember none if it! I did enjoy this re-read: it is apparent why young boys would thrill to the possibilities. In actuality, it has a more probable story line than many YA books for boys written today. In that sense, timeless.

[cbjames_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Adventure can rely on character. Robert Lewis Stevenson demonstrates this in his classic novel Treasure Island. There's plenty of adventure in Treasure Island: mysterious strangers arrive on stormy nights; innocent people survive savage attacks; abandoned ships drift out to sea; pirates climb the walls of forts under the cover of darkness to attack sleeping innocents; castaways, marooned for years, are rescued; fortunes are found and lost again.But what the reader walks away from Treasure Island remembering is the books characters. Long John Silver is the best known, but there are plenty of others, pirates and non-pirates alike. It's these characters that have kept readers coming back to Treasure Island generation after generation. They continue to frighten, to intrigue and to entertain.Illustration by N.C. WyethIn fact, most of what we know about pirates, we learned from Treasure Island. Pirates have wooden legs and wear eye patches. They walk with a crutch, but in a pinch, they can transform their crutch into a deadly spear. They keep parrots as pets and teach them to say "pieces of eight." When they get together, they can't help but sing "Sixteen men on a dead man's chest/ Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum!" They are charmers, but they cannot be trusted. They terrify us, but we can't help but want to be like them. And we're always a little bit relieved when they get away in the end.Illustration by N.C. WyethThe menace and magic of Robert Lewis Stevenson's pirates are both captured by N.C. Wyeth's illustrations. The elder Wyeth has been admired by illustrators for generations, and many consider his artwork for Treasure Island to be his best. I don't know enough about the art of illustration to effectively judge N.C. Wyeth, but C.J. and I have developed a few standards in almost 15 years of shared museum going. One is do we believe the figures in the painting existed before the moment of the artwork and will they continue to exist afterwards. I think Wyeth's do. His illustrations capture parts of a larger moment. N.C. Wyeth is also a master of composition. Notice this group of three pirates climbing the walls of the fort. The viewer sees the two on the wall right away, but did you notice the third one who has already entered the fort's shadow? And look at the angle of the mast and the yard arm in the illustration above. There is no steady, level place for Jim to hide in as he climbs the ship's rigging to escape the pirate. Everything is sharp angles and dangerous slanted beams. The only solid right angle in the picture is the horizon off in the distance. Beyond that horizon, the safety of home.I can see why N.C. Wyeth is considered one of the best. His illustrations create characters with lives outside the paintings just as a good author creates characters with lives outside the book they inhabit. Wyeth and Stevenson are wonderful together.

[hippielunatic · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

As a mother of two boys, I felt that I should read this classic. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it very much. It wasn't that women aren't present. It wasn't the language (though I did have some issues with getting into the style). It was the pace.For what is heralded as a boys' pirate life book, this had very little action. It felt as though the prelude was given all the pages; the story I would have been interested to read was given only a breath. Now, I love character development. I will argue that knowing the character is generally more important that knowing the plot of any given book, but Treasure Island seems to max out on this theory for me.

[bryce_babe · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a book that I read for school. It took me a while to get into it, but once I did, it was easier to understand what was going on. I would recomend it to anyone who is looking for a challenging book to read.

[gbev2008 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the first time I've read this book and I loved it. I had to do a lot of looking up of nautical terms to get a picture in my head of what was going on, but the story is gripping and well told. I'm also a fan of colorful dialogue and this is a great one for that. (It's also the obvious inspiration for all stereotypical pirate lingo still used today.) And I also wouldn't call this "Juvenile Fiction." Most kids today wouldn't understand a word of it...and you may lay to it!