Product Description

In the summer of 1881, staying near Braemar in Scotland, Stevenson reported excitedly that he was on to a new story: The Sea Cook, or Treasure Island. Written at the rate of a chapter a day for fifteen days (and completed later in the same year), the novel soon became a classic. An absorbing tale of buccaneers, a map, a romantic quest for treasure, it is also the story of the sea cook of its original title - the brilliantly drawn Long John Silver, that smooth and formidable adventurer of whom Stevenson was rightly proud and for whom even he felt a little admiration.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43475 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Customer Reviews

An exciting read
I first read this book as a child, and have come to it now because of an open university course. It is a very exciting read, and would be lovely read aloud by a parent or grandparent to children. This is because there are some more unusual or old fashioned words which a younger child might find difficult. There are some very exciting parts where there is real tension and danger, all seen through the eyes of Jim, a young boy, who proves to be very resourceful and a key player in fighting the pirates.

This treasure is too buried for me
I just can't warm to this story, and this is the second time I've read it in recent years. I find Louis Stevenson's prose awkward and the story totally unengaging. I expect this is because I am a middle aged woman rather than a young boy with a thirst for adventure. Having said that I love old fashioned adventure stories like John Buchan's 39 Steps which is in much the same vein. There is something in this book however which I cannot warm to.

I find the characters rather unsympathetic. The hero, Jim Hawkins, the boy through whose eyes the story is told is perhaps just too much of a vehicle and the other characters are either stupid or amoral or too moral. I think that if you are looking for a straightforward adventure story which does not ask too many overtly complex questions and which simply gallops at breakneck speed from one exciting event to another, and you like your pirates and buried treasure, then this is the story for you. Unfortunately it is not the story for me.

The ultimate adventure story for boys
Pirates, buried treasure and skull duggery by the bucket load.
What more could boys ask for?