Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson • November 13, 1850 – December 3, 1894 • Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson • stories of bloody doings, hellfire, and damnation • Engineering -> Law School • Almost all of Stevenson's writings, including his novels, short stories and essays, and two books written in collaboration with his stepson Lloyd Osbourne

Robert Louis Stevenson • stories of bloody doings, hellfire, and damnation • Engineering -> Law School • Almost all of Stevenson's writings, including his novels, short stories and essays, and two books written in collaboration with his stepson Lloyd Osbourne

Characters • Jim Hawkins – Innkeeper’s son; protagonist and chief narrator

• Billy Bones – old sailor and a pirate

• Dr. David Livesey – Local physician and district magistrate

Characters • Squire John Trelawney – A country squire; a wealthy man who finances the trip to Treasure Island.

• Black Dog – Billy Bone’s old shipmate; pirate

• Pew – Blind beggar; another pirate

Characters • Long John Silver – a Bristol tavern-keeper

• Captain Alexander Smollett – Captain of Hispaniola

Summary • Arrival of a large, old sailor and rented a room • He pays Jim a small amount of money to watch out for other seamen, especially a sailor with one leg. • The old man had a stroke • Pew gave Bones the “Black Spot”

Summary • Bones’ death • Jim and his mother opened Bones’ sea chest to collect the amount due for Bones’ room and board. • They are forced to flee and hide taking with him a mysterious oilskin packet from Bones’ sea chest.

Summary • Jim, Dr. Livesey and Trelawney examined the oilskin packet and discovered a logbook detailing the treasure looted during Captain Flint's career, and a detailed map of an island, with the location of Flint's treasure caches marked on it.

Summary • They planned to hunt the treasure down. Trelawney bought a schooner named the “Hispaniola” and hired Captain Smollett to command. • Jim’s suspicions • Jim crawls into the ship's apple barrel to get some apples and overheard Silver’s motives

Summary • • • • •

Jim meets Ben Gunn fight fight fight Silver surrendered Treasure is divided Silver escaped with a small part of the treasure

Sequels and prequels • Author R. F. Delderfield wrote The Adventures of Ben Gunn (1956) which follows Ben Gunn from parson's son to pirate and is narrated by Jim Hawkins in Gunn's words. • Author John Drake wrote a prequel, Flint & Silver (2008) Two more books followed: Pieces of Eight (2009) and Skull and Bones (2010).

Sequels and prequels • Author Bjorn Larsson wrote a sequel, Long John Silver (1999). • Author John O'Melveny Woods wrote a sequel, Return to Treasure Island (2010)

Adaptations • Over 50 movie and TV versions • 1972 - Treasure Island - Starring Orson Welles • 1988 - Treasure Island (1988 film) - A critically acclaimed Soviet animation film in two parts. Released in the USA 1992 as Return to Treasure Island

Adaptations • 2002 - Treasure Planet. A Disney animated version set in space, with Long John Silver as a cyborg and many of the original characters re-imagined as aliens except for Jim and his family • 2007 - Die Schatzinsel. A loosely adapted version, in German, starring German and Austrian actors, of the original novel.

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