Treasure Island
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4.3 • 774 Ratings
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Publisher Description
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "buccaneers and buried gold". First published as a book on 23 May 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881 and 1882 under the title Treasure Island or, the mutiny of the Hispaniola with Stevenson adopting the pseudonym Captain George North.
Traditionally considered a coming-of-age story, Treasure Island is a tale known for its atmosphere, characters and action, and also as a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality — as seen in Long John Silver — unusual for children's literature now and then. It is one of the most frequently dramatized of all novels. The influence of Treasure Island on popular perceptions of pirates is enormous, including treasure maps marked with an "X", schooners, the Black Spot, tropical islands, and one-legged seamen carrying parrots on their shoulders.
Customer Reviews
Good classic story
I really liked how the book actually read like a tale, how the main character told the story from his point of view. I admit that it took a long time for me to get through the book and I think the only reason I was able to do so while also having a fair understanding of the story is because I read the ebook on my phone and was able to highlight words and look up definitions while I was reading. The vocabulary, verbiage, and even grammar was so different back then and I had trouble keeping up at times. I enjoyed the plot twists and appreciated the fact that I actually laughed out loud a few times at the subdued yet clever humor. Overall, I am happy to have been able to finish this book, which I consider to be a classic historical piece, and put it on my virtual bookshelf.
I drank in every word
What a superb read ! I went over most passages twice, they were so enjoyable. Unbelievably rare that a book written in 1885 still has every word interesting and exciting to the modern reader. Long John Silver is an amazing character , and all the characters are well drawn - RLS had a superb knowledge of human mature. Read it - you will be glad you did!
A classic pirate tale fit for seven seas
After many times of picking up and not finishing this book, I’m glad to have finished it now.
It was great to read the perspective of Jim Hawkins throughout the story and see the relationship between Jim and Long John Silver. Especially since I’ve seen other interpretations of this story (Muppet Treasure Island and Treasure Planet) long before finishing the book.
The book does a good job with detailing the locations, character appearances/behaviors, and the speech patterns typical for the time period in which the book was written in.
Glad to have finished a classic story and it’ll be interesting to revisit other interpretations with a better understanding of the original story.