Stevenson has perhaps invented the first antihero-a far from perfect, maybe even wholly bad, man whom we root for. That too might have been a good tale, but not as intriguing as the one with Long John Silver playing all sides against each other. Launch of the antiheroīut we know that without him we'd have a much less interesting story in which good little Jim displays a cunning beyond his years to outwit and overpower a whole gang of pirates on his own. Maybe it's this elusiveness itself that appeals to us-the enigma of the man. There's something else magical about him that we can't quite put a finger on. This doesn't adequately sum up what attracts us to Long John though. Innocents-but he still manages to double-cross them to make off with aĪll through he's a blustering, wisecracking force of nature.

Soft-hearted rascal who befriends Jim to oppose the really bad guys-though youĬan never be sure how much goodness there is in him or how much he is He may indeed be a black-hearted villain, but he's also a Heroes, Stevenson has created an enduringly enigmatic and magneticĬharacter. Instead of simply having a black-hearted villain blocking the What really makes the story great though is the character of Long John Pirate Edward Teach is supposed to have stranded fifteen men with a bottle Referred to an island called Dead Chest, where the real-life It's thought Stevenson got that from a song that originally All the details of character, plot and dialogueĬreate about as scary and suspenseful an atmosphere as you could imagine.Įveryone of course remembers the pirate's song from Treasure Island that starts 'Fifteen men on the dead man's chest'. So begins a battle on board that carries on toĮxciting stuff, with mystery, murder, greed, skullduggery and heroism-with good ultimately triumphing, of course. Pirates led by the one-legged Long John Silver try to mutiny to go after Squire Trelawney set sail to find the treasure.

Evading a gang ofĬutthroats who come after the map, young Jim and his benefactor Treasure map among a dead pirate's chest at their inn. At least a dozen films have been made of Treasure Island, not to mention many more television shows, cartoons, spoofs and sequels.īut what makes this story a perennial favourite? Robert Louis Stevenson's novel has defined the pirate story, not to mention the treasure-hunting story, the mutiny-on-the-seas story-and the adventure story in general for both children and adults. No one needs to be told what Treasure Island is about. THE NOVEL | THE TEXT | THE MOVIES Long live Long John Silver

Treasure island books