Treasure Island and The Ebb-Tide

by Robert Louis Stevenson, Lloyd Osbourne

'"One more step, Mr Hands," said I, "and I'll blow your brains out"'

In Treasure Island, a weathered old sailor known as Billy Bones arrives at the inn of young Jim Hawkins's parents - and it is the start of an adventure beyond anything he could have imagined. For when Bones dies mysteriously, Jim stumbles across a map of a mysterious island in his sea chest - where 'X' marks the spot of a stash of buried pirate gold. Setting sail with his friends on the ship Hispaniola to recover the treasure, Jim soon realizes that he's not the only one who knows about the hoard. Suddenly he is thrown into a world of treachery, mutiny, castaways and murder and, at the centre of it all, is the charming but sinister Long John Silver, who will stop at nothing to grab his share of the loot... The Ebb-Tide, a short novel published the year of Stevenson's death, is also a rollicking seafaring adventure, narrating the voyage of a stolen ship whilst exploring such themes as imperialism, violence, dishonesty, Christianity and corruption.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, 19th Century, Literature, Victorian, Fantasy

379 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1883

About the author

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.

Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Treasure Island was fun and entertaining. The Ebb-Tide I ended up skimming.

[Leni Iversen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Treasure Island was a childhood favourite for me, and if it is not as nerve-wrecking as a reread or for an adult, it is still stellar. The Ebb-Tide is a strange nut. It has some problematic and cringe-worthy colonial attitudes, and a rather abrupt ending, but it is also intriguing. Unlike Treasure Island, this novella is not meant for children. The title is not literal, the theme seems to be what traits reveal themselves on the rocky shore of the human soul when good fortune retreats and only desperation is left in its place. There is also some juxtaposition of atheism vs. faith, which becomes prominent but ultimately seems underdeveloped. I also wonder if Stevenson was consciously or unconsciously influenced by Conrad's Heart of Darkness which was published the preceding year, or if they were perhaps both drawing on the same inspiration. The stories aren't exactly similar, but the Ebb-Tide features a rather forceful personality who has set himself up as the only white person on an uncharted island in the South Pacific.

Also included in this edition are three contemporary reviews. Two of Treasure Island, and one of the Ebb-Tide. The latter one is a defence of the novella, which apparently did not meet with much approval at publication as it baffled the reviewers by not following established patterns.

[Robert Sheard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The classic adventure story of fortune and greed, trust and deception, bravery and courage, and coming of age, where "X" marks the spot and you need to look out for the pirates and the black spot.

Is it a children's adventure story? Perhaps. It's certainly straight-forward and a page turner, but for me it's just the quintessential adventure tale. Absolutely terrific read.

[Emma Davison (A Cup Of Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have only read Treasure Island out of the two books in this collection. Whilst it was a fun read in places, I think the bulk of the enjoyment came from nostalgia of classic scenes I remember from movies of it from my childhood rather than any actual joy in the writing itself. The characters were fun and the description pretty in places, but I struggled with the pacing. The book takes 50 odd pages before we get anywhere good, and then the relationship and inevitable betrayal from Silver takes all of about 20 pages. We spend far too long on boat terminology and not enough time with the actual action. I kept alternating scenes wanting Stevenson to hurry up to the good bit and then slow down once some action was actually happening. He seems to have completely reversed the pacing I wanted from the story within every scene.

Due to this, I can't see myself reading The Ebb Tide any time soon. My lack of knowledge of its story means I think I'll struggle with it even more than Treasure Island and there are far too many better books waiting for me on my shelves to bother with this.

As is so often the case with a classics - the ideas are great and the bare bones of a good story are there but it needs finessing. One can't help but compare it to the many adaptations of it that have come since, and in this case the adaptions are far better.

[shakespeareandspice · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it to 108 and that’s all I could bear. It’s just not my kind of thing I suppose.

[Helene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one goes for The Ebb-Tide Tales.

[Eden jartleu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Racism, imperialism, and violence aside, not too shabby.
I will now be watching the Muppet’s Treasure Island. But, as my lecturer reminded me, there is no Muppet’s Ebb-Tide😔

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I only read Treasure Island of the two. I was really looking forward to it, but found it rather boring and tedious, which made me take forever to get through it. Oh well, I will always have Treasure Planet to watch!

[Jessica Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed the premise of Treasure Island and the journey the characters go on! Even though this book was originally intended for boys (sexism aside), i believe it is a fun and great adventure for both sexes and all ages! And i love me some pirates!

[Lilifane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich weiß wirklich nicht, wie ich dieses Buch bewerten soll.
Eigentlich habe ich es nur gekauft, weil ich Treasure Island unbedingt lesen wollte (nachdem ich als Kind schon den Anime geliebt habe und nun Black Sails schaue) aber wenn ich ein Buch anfange, dann möchte ich es auch zu Ende lesen und zu diesem Buch gehörte dann noch eine zweite Erzählung. The Ebb-Tide fand ich dann aber nicht so gut.

Zur Schatzinsel:
Obwohl es auf englisch eine Herausforderung war, hab ich die Erzählung sehr schnell fertig gelesen. Einerseits mag ich es sehr, dass alle Charaktere ihre eigene Art haben zu sprechen und der Piratenslang so hervorgehoben wird, andererseits ist es als Nicht-Muttersprachler schon schwierig zu entziffern, was gerade gemeint ist. Die Story macht aber einfach Spaß, es passiert so viel und man entwickelt sehr schnell Sympathien für die Charaktere. Ich muss sagen, dass ich durch Black Sails noch mehr Gefühle für gewisse Charaktere hatte, als vermutlich beabsichtigt aber das hat die Leselust nur noch gesteigert.

Zu The Ebb-Tide:
Ich kam nicht wirklich rein in die Geschichte. Nach der Action auf der Schatzinsel und Jim Hawkins als Sympathieträger konnte ich mich hier nicht mit den unsympatischen Protagonisten anfreunden, die auch noch zu langen inneren Monologen neigen. Ich mochte, dass mehr Zeit auf hoher See verbracht wird und man tatsächlich etwas vom täglichen Schiffsleben mitbekommt aber diese Charaktere und ihre schlechten Entscheidungen machten alles einfach nur frustrierend. Was ich hier noch besser fand als bei der Schatzinsel, war dass jeder Charakter nicht nur seine eigene Sprechweise hatte, sondern dass diese auch dazu diente, die jeweiligen Personen zu charakterisieren. Aber am Ende war mit trotzdem egal, was mit den Charakteren passiert.

[Eric Hinkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Treasure Island is great! Can't believe it took me so many years to finally sit down and read it.

The Ebb Tide, like the cover says, is savage -- not in the "the natives were such savages" way you might expect, but in a "civilized western people are so savage it's atrocious" way. Brutal stuff. Not very enjoyable.

[Meg Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Treasure Island a long time ago, so while James enjoyed that adventure I occassionally snatched the book from his sleeping lap to read the Ebb-Tide.

I thought it was more mature, obviously because the protagonist is in his 20s, but also because his situation is more hopeless and confusing. I thought the ending was rushed.

[Rhys · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never did read Treasure Island as a child and perhaps I am thankful for that as there is quite a lot of killing. More killing than is normally intercepted at a young age. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed it and indeed felt a young lust for adventure, even as a cynical adult!

[Karen S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Treasure Island ***
The Ebb-Tide *

[valdi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only read Treasure Island (not the Ebb Tide), but... it's a no for me. An adventure book is supposed to hook you and keep you engaged and wanting to know how things are going to turn out, yet I had zero interest; I didn't get shocked or curious or attached to the characters at all. Maybe, if it was narrated otherwise, things would have been different (but it wasn't the case).

[Zoé☀️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everybody made fun of me for reading a children’s story but there’s so much more to these two novels. It did give me childhood flashbacks. And who doesn’t love pirates, they’re kinda fun!

[vie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5
ebb tide > treasure island

[Birte · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun stories, but nothing especially outstanding to me i think

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love studying pirates

[julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.0 Stars.

Audiobook.

I listened to Treasure Island as an audiobook to cope with my new job this last week, and while I really liked the narrator, I honestly didn't much care for the book that he was reading - sadly enough. I usually love pirates, pirate ships, pirate stories, all about pirates, any day, any time, always. I love the mood and the sense of adventure that surrounds them. Listening to this story, I didn't feel a lot of anything at all. I didn't care for the characters, the whole plot didn't capture me in the least, the construction was somehow missing depth and while I guess that young Jim had the journey of a lifetime, I really didn't feel like I was living through that with him. I don't want to say that I was bored, exactly, but everything about this was kind of mediocre.

[Catie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happy Reader Book Choice - June 2017

[Steph Hayward-bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed rereading treasure island and enjoyed revisiting the characters. However I had forgotten how little time is actually spent looking for the treasure. I did struggle with the Ebb Tide.

[daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this to write an essay on the queer readings of Stevenson’s work, specifically in The Ebb-Tide, and I truly have no idea how the fuck I managed to pull that one off.

[Argiris Fakkas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked a lot the first story, the Treasure Island, especially the interactions of Jim with captain Flint, at his father’s inn. Flint is described as scary and overbearing but he has a soft spot for Jim as it appears. Another frightening moment is when Jim hears the buccaneers and especially John Silver, conspiring near the apple barrel. Touching is the moments when he finds Ben Gunn, during his shore adventure, a marooned man deserted on the island by Flint himself. The death of Tom Redruth at the stockade battle is quite moving. Jim’s sea adventure is also an interesting part, especially when he has the upper hand of Israel Hands, who mimics injury and tries to find a chance to kill him. How Jim falls into the buccaneers’ hands is somewhat funny, with Silver’s parrot noticing him and shrieking “Pieces of eight”! It’s noteworthy how the pirates are afraid of Flint, even if he’s dead, as they feel his ghost all over them when they’re looking for his treasure. Quite interesting is the interactions between Silver and Jim, for no other reason but to save himself from the gallows, as he acknowledges the incompetence of his comrades. Mysterious but quite fitting is the disappearing of Silver at the end of the novel. Other important characters of the novel is the commandeering presence of the doctor and captain Smollett, the captain of Hispaniola who has to face the pirates’ mutiny.

The second story, the Ebbtide isn’t on the same high level, but it has some merits too. The company of Herrick, a literate man who has fallen low, captain Davis who has in own inside fight with guilt, as his drunkenness was the fault of a shipwreck, and Huish, a clerk who is mostly awkward, clumsy and doesn’t hide his words, is interesting and quite funny sometimes. The best part is when this company is at Tahiti lamenting their misdeeds, drinking, and signing in order to get some food. The voyage isn’t so noteworthy. Attwater, who lives on the island and awaits his ship, is a mysterious and interesting character and his dinner with Herrick is tensely, but the story generally lacks after the beginning. There is a relief however when Attwater spares Davis, and he does so ni quite a comic way. Another reason to dislike this story is the hard language of Huish, I had much trouble to understand what he was saying.


Treasure Island

Part 1: The old buccaneer

1: An old seafaring man comes to the Admiral Benbow, bringing a chest. He sings, drinks rum and asks the narrator to notify him if he sees a seafaring man with one leg. Only the doctor goes against him and threatens him with banish.

2: At the inn the captain has a visitor, his old shipmate, Black Dog. They have a quarrel and Black Dog flees after the captain hacks him with his cutlass. When he returns inside, he has a stroke and Livesey, the doctor, revives him. He tells him to abstain from rum.

3: The captain desperately wants rum and the narrator, Jim, give him just one glass. He mnetions a black spot. Jim’s father dies and the captain sings, having found more rum. A blind beggar arrives at the inn, cold and threatening, and gives something to the captain. As he tries to stand up, he dies of apoplexy.

4: Frightened, Jim and his mother leave the inn and go to the village, where no one offers help. They discover a blackened paper in the captain’s hand (the black spot), which notified him that the deadline is at 10 and open the dead man’s chest. They find coins, but they are afraid of the blind man. Jim’s mother insists to take only what was owed to them.

5: The blind man is named Pew and prompts the other buccaneers to search for Jim. He knows he got the map. A sound like trumpets is heard, warning the buccaneers, who leave Pew behind. Afterwards Supervisor Dance comes with some officers on horses. Pew, disoriented, gets trampled by the horses. The narrator asks him to take him to Dr. Livesey.

6: Dance with Jim heads for Dr. Livesey’s house; he’s at squire’s Trelawney’s house and they head there. Jim hands the captain’s papers to doctor and squire, there’s a book and a sealed paper. The paper has a map of an island with some crosses. The three of them plan to find this island and get the treasure.

Part 2: The sea cook

7: Jim is superintended by Redruth, the gamekeeper. They receive a letter from the squire, telling them he’s found an old sailor and he would be the ship’s cook, a man with one leg, named Long John Silver. He found a marvelous schooner, named Hispaniola and hired some men. Then they go to Bristol, find Trelawney.

8: Jim goes to the bar named Spy glass, where John Silver is waiting for him. He spots the buccaneer Black Dog, but he flees and manages to escape. He’s worried if John Silver is the one-legged man the captain warned him about.

9: Aboard the ship, captain Smollett isn’t happy that the doctor and the squire didn’t tell him about the treasure map. He also doesn’t like the fact that Mr. Arrow, the mate is overfriendly with the crew. He seems honest man and the doctor says to Trelawney that he got two honest men aboard, John Silver and him.

10: They voyage continues, Mr. Arrow appears constantly drunk and one day he disappears. Jim Hawkins talks with the coxswain, Israel Hands, the great confidant of Long John Silver. One night Hawkins wants an apple and discovers the apple barrel empty. He hears John Silver telling something.

11: Hawkins hears Silver talking with a young lad like he was talking with himself. He was one of the men of captain’s Flint. After a while Israel Hands comes along too. They are all conspiring against the ship’s crew. Israel wants to kill them all right now, but Silver points out that they don’t have the map. He says the best plan is to get the treasure and then take over the ship. The look-out man shouts land.

12: Captain Smollett gives the map to Silver; but it’s a map without the red crosses. Jim notifies the doctor that something’s amiss; he tells him to summon the captain and the squire and breaks them the news. They count the men who could trust and they find them seven to Silver’s nineteen.

Part 3: My shore adventure

13: The island appears forbidding and threating, with a stagnant smell. After a council, the captain lets the men to go ashore. Thirteen of Silver’s men go ashore, while six stay. Jim decides to go ashore and hops on a boat. Silver looks sharply at him and Jim avoids him by getting lost in the island’s thickets.

14: Jim roams into the island. From the thickets he sees John Silver killing two fellow buccaneers because they went against him. Frightened he starts to wander in the forest until something stops him.

15: It’s a disheveled man dressed in tatters who moves in his direction. He says to him he was marooned here for three years and asks him for cheese. He used to be in Flint’s ship; Flint managed to bury the treasure and terminate six strong seamen. Three years back, Ben Gunn was in another ship, searching for this treasure on the island, when his companions deserted him. Presently they hear gunshots and cannon shots.

Part 4: The stockade

16: The narration continues by the doctor; he is very pessimistic about Jim’s fate. He and Hunter make an excursion to the island and discover a fort. Meanwhile on the ship, the captain, the squire and Redruth restrict the buccaneers. The doctor returns to the ship and they all leave for the island. Captain Smollett coax a buccaneer into their company, it’s Abraham Gray.

17: The buccaneers though wait for them at the coast. There’s a firing. Finally, the five men manage to get ashore, but they lost their guns bar two.

18: While out of the stockade the team encounters the pirates. At the fire exchange one pirate falls dead and Tom Redruth is injured too. They carry him inside and after a while he dies. The captain worries about the food provisions. As the doctor reads the captain’s log, Jim Hawkins returns.

19: Ben Gunn prompts Jim to rejoin with his friends, but not to forget him. The doctor questions Ben Gunn’s sanity. The pirates outside won’t last long because of rum and the marsh’s climate. Next morning Silver approaches them with a white flag.

20: Silver meets with captain Smollett, they smoke and then Silver proposes to give to him the chart in exchange of coming aboard or staying unharmed on the island. The pirates would notify the first ship. Smollett declines and none of them help Silver to stand up, so he has to crawl to reach his crutch.

21: Everyone inside the stockade waits the buccaneers’ attack and it’s fierce. Eventually they win and the mutineers flee. Smollett reckons they are now four to nine, although it’s actually four to eight.

Part 5: My sea adventure

22: Hunter is badly injured and dies. Smollett has a broken shoulder blade but he will live. Jim thinks a dangerous plan, he wants to take the hidden Ben Gunn’s boat, sail to the Hispaniola and cut her adrift.

23: Gunn’s boat is very hard to maneuver but Jim gets close to the ship. The winds don’t favor his plan. Fortunately for him the winds change direction, and he cuts the anchorage rope. He sees two men aboard the ship, one of them is Israel Hands, drunk and singing. They quarrel and at first doesn’t notice anything but later they understand what happened.

24: Jim is adrift on the coracle and tries desperately to come close to the shore where he sees sea lions. Suddenly he sees the Hispaniola which appears to be adrift too. He tries to come close, because of his thirst and finally he succeeds.

25: Jim manages to go onboard the ship where he finds Israel Hands severely wounded and the man with the red cap dead. They quarreled while being drunk. Hands wants some brandy and Jim brings him some, while getting water and biscuits. Jim tells Hands he is now the captain. Hands offers his navigational help and Jim accepts in order to reach the North Inlet of the island.

26: Hands asks for some wine and Jim understand something’s amiss. In fact, Hands has regained his strength and hides a dirk in his cloth. When they reach the inlet Hands attacks and Jim’s guns are useless because of the sea. He hides at first and then makes his gun useful, threating Hands. He tries desperately to strike but Jim shoots timely.

27: Hawkins makes away the knife from his shoulder with shuddering. He secures the Hispaniola and heads for the stockade. He sees a red glare and fears something’s amiss. When he enters Silver’s green parrot shrieks “Pieces of eight!” and notifies the rest for the intrusion.

Part 6: Captain Silver

28: Jim falls into the hands of the pirates. Silver informs him that his comrades have abandoned the stockade after negotiations. He tells him his old mates consider him a traitor and asks him where he stands. Hawkins bravely admits that it was him that eavesdropped at the apple barrel and set the ship adrift. The other buccaneers want to kill him instantly, but Silver is against that. They demand council and leave the room. When alone Silver admits to Jim that he’s lost his hope and asks for his help to avoid the gallows. He agrees.

29: The mutineers release Silver from command. They point out four reasons for that. Silver contradicts every single one of them and eventually present them Flint’s chart with the treasure. They leave George Merry who they intended to make captain and rally with Silver again.

30: The doctor comes to the stockade to see the injured pirates. He learns from Silver that Jim is there. He asks to talk to him alone, the other pirates disagree promptly but Silver tells them to shut up. They go outside, Silver tells him he protected the boy and asks him to save him from the gallows. He leaves them alone. The doctor is critical of Jim’s adventures but is happy to learn the ship is in North Inlet. He agrees to try to save Silver if he protects the boy.

31: The pirates go treasure hunting with Jim. They find the tall tree indicated on Flint’s chart and the dead man, set in this way by Flint, pointing his finger to the treasure’s direction. The buccaneers are afraid of Flint’s ghost.

32: As the pirates check the trees to find the treasure, they hear a voice singing. They think it’s Flint’s ghost, only Silver seems to be more logical. He points that the voice has an echo. He tells them it’s Ben Gunn’s voice. The pirates are revived, Silver throws angry looks at Jim. They find the right tree but alas the spot is excavated and there’s no bounty to be found.

33: Silver understands a battle is imminent and he’s friendly to Jim again. The other pirates are angry and blame him. It’s five against two, but the doctor, Gray and Ben Gunn intervene. They shoot two pirates down, the remaining three flee. Silver meets again with Ben Gunn. Ben hid the treasure in a cave during his excursions on the island. That’s why the doctor gave Silver the chart and abandoned the stockade. They row back to cave meeting the squire and captain Smollett and have a merry feast.

34: They leave the island with the treasure leaving the mutineers behind, but with some provisions. The mutineers beg them to take them overboard and eventually shoot at them. They reach an island on the way back home and Silver is gone, taking a sack of coins with him. Jim never hears about his fate or whereabouts.


The ebb-tide

Part 1: The trio

1: Three men sit under a purao tree in the town of Papeete, Tahiti. One of them is Robert Herrick, a refined man, who had to be a merchant to support his family, and he lost his money afterwards. He embarked on a ship to Tahiti searching for a better future. The other men are referred as the captain and the clerk. The clerk is ill and coughs constantly. A squall breaks and they find shelter in an old calaboose.

2: The trio, go up a ship to dance and sing with the Kanaka people to get a free meal. Eventually Tom, the Scottish captain throws them out. Then the captain sees a mail brigantine and suggests to his friends to write a letter back home. Herrick finds it hard, but then the captain confesses it can’t be more hard than him; he was captain, got drunk, and sank his ship, six humans drown. Herrick writes Emma, his wife. We learn the captain’s real name is Davis; clerk’s is Huish.

3: Davis tells Herrick that the island consul offered him a ship which is plagued by smallpox. He needs help from Herrick to do it. He is going to make him mate. Herrick

4: The trio set foot on schooner Farallone. Davis says to Huish to stop his jokes; he’s the captain now. He addresses the Kanakas onboard like a true captain and advise Herrick to act like a subordinate and call him sir as the others.

5: The journey aboard the Farallone begins. Davis and Huish drink much of the champagne cargo. The captain becomes aggravated and hostile. A squall is imminent and the captain totally drunk can’t give the correct orders. At the critical moment Herrick speaks abrasively to him. Davis, shook up, gives the correct orders. He discloses that his only daughter is dead from a bowel disease. He doesn’t want to drink again, but Huish opens a bottle of champagne and he discovers that it has water. They try some other bottles, and it appears only the front bottles have liquor; they have been tricked.

6: The partners talk about the prospects of their journey. Herrick wants to go to Peru to extradite. The captain and Herrick have an argument with Huish but at the critical moment Uncle Ned notify them there’s land ahead.

7: On this strange and mysterious island they dock, after they find a spot in the thicket of trees. A man comes to greet them, he collect pearls from shells and wants them to take him aboard with a fee, since his ship is overdue. He tells them there was a smallpox epidemic on the island and out of 33 men remained only four. He invites them to dinner, Davis and Huish at six thirty and Herrick at four. Davis wants Herrick to persuade the man to come aboard with his valuable pearls, otherwise there would be a funeral.

8: Herrick goes to Attwater; his place is full of old junk. He is a devout Christian contrary to Herrick. Attwater defines the other two as vulgar wolves. Herrick puts a good word about Davis and says even Huish has some merits. Attwater reveals to him that he’s a skilled shooter. They see a pretty woman and Attwater reveals that he married her with one other survivor. They drink together when Huish and Davis approach them.

9: At the dinner both Attwater and Davis with Huish look each other suspiciously. Attwater tells them his partner Dr. Symonds is on a ship travelling. He also tells them a story about Obsequiousness and Sullens. Sullens was wrongly accused and committed suicide. The real culprit was the native and his punishment was shot to death. Herrick is frantic when he hears that and thinks it was a murder.

10: Davis gets Herrick outside and tries to smooth him. Herrick claims that it’s all over. Davis doesn’t think so, even though he thought suspicious what Attwater said about the sherry. Herrick prompts him to leave the island. Davis decides to return to check on Huish and falls into the trap. Attwater aims at him, as do his servants. Davis hides successfully and returns to the ship where he finds Huish and later Herrick. He asks him for his support, but Herrick drops to the ocean and tries to get drown unsuccessfully. He goes back to the island and finds Attwater. He says he’s at his mercy. Attwater tells him to go inside the house for dry clothes.

11: Davis ponders their chances which aren’t good. Huish has an idea. He intends to go offshore with a flag of truce and throws vitriolic acid to Attwater. Davis doesn’t like this plan. Huish dictate him a letter and Davis writes it. They see Herrick on the pier and Huish gives him the letter to give to Attwater, who says Huish can come to him but with no tricks. Huish reach him much too near and Attwater suspect something’s amiss. When Huish try to shoot him, he is quicker; Huish is shot dead. Attwater reach the captain and tells him to say his prayers but when he’s finished he doesn’t shoot him.

12: Herrick is with Davis and tells him that the ship Attwater was expecting has arrived. They are free to go with the Farallone. The captain responds that he’s fond now of the island and doesn’t want to leave it. Furthermore he’s now at peace with God.

[G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a certain antidote to the ills of the world to be found in tales of swashbuckling adventure and derring-do. Long before the volatile moral imperatives of postmodern thinking, wherein stories seem to be increasingly centred around characters who are morally grey at best, there's an attraction to the worlds conjured by classic novels: good characters with principles and real moral fibre; villains with complex desires and a clear rationale to their evil deeds. A slightly haughty part of me feels inclined to deride stories of 'goodies' and 'baddies' as unsophisticated, but to be perfectly honest the older I get the more I find it's the classics which seem to offer a beacon of goodness and guidance.

It was out of this desire that I decided to kill the snooty intellectual within; to re-capture the sheer joy and yearning for pure escapism and adventure that made me first fall in love with fiction. This slim volume contains two stories by Robert Louis Stevenson. The first of these stories was a joy to read, and pretty much achieved what I expected. Treasure Island needs no introduction beyond this: a classic 'coming of age' tale of adventure which basically invented the archetypal pirate in the collective literary imagination: Long John Silver. The second, The Ebb Tide is quite a different tale. It left me bewildered, and honestly a bit bored. These are two very different tales, only loosely related by the theme of buccaneering adventure. I have written about each in turn below...


Treasure Island

Everything about this tale has a mythic, archetypal quality: a Hero's Journey, à la Joseph Campbell. Our hero, Jim Hawkins, finds his Call to Adventure in the form of a treasure map contained within a sealed chest dragged to his parents' coastal inn by notorious pirate Billy Bones. Bones spends his days drinking rum, becoming lairy, and scaring the locals by singing his old favourite sea shanty 'yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. In time, unfortunately for Bones and for Hawkins, his former shipmates catch up with him. What follows is a plot that goes like the clappers, buttressed by weighty themes of avarice and hubris, betrayal and friendship, struggle and growth, good and evil. ARRRRRR - the pirate's favourite letter, though the C be his first love

Jokes aside, it's easy to see all of this as a little quaint and dated. I know I did; my original copy of this book was gifted by my grandparents and sat on my childhood bookshelf, unblemished and unread, perennially passed over for newer, shinier titles (Darren Shan, Jacqueline Wilson, Harry Potter etc.) The mannerisms, accents and 'codes' of piracy have been ploughed for all their money's worth. Having gone through a brief renaissance thanks to 'Pirates of the Caribbean', the image of the pirate has since become a bit of a caricature.

Truly, though, on returning to this rich source material in all its raw glory the sheer brutality of life in the 18th Century, and particularly life at sea, soon becomes abundantly clear. These were days of exploration, but also desperation, opportunism and scurvy. The map of the world had not yet been filled in, tales of riches beyond imagination in the New World filled people's hearts with greed, and beyond the pale there be monsters...! The result must have felt like a very real conflict between good and evil. Strains of heroism and/or villainy could be calmed or encouraged by the leadership on board, and the dark threat of mutiny hung over any expedition which lost its way.

For all of these reasons, this book stands the test of time. Stevenson plays it completely straight: the dangers at sea are real; the pirates are vicious and bloodthirsty; Jim has to fight for his life, literally. It's not difficult to see why this book is so influential, and really it can be summarised in three words: Long John Silver. While he is not the protagonist, he is by far the most memorable character. The wooden leg and crutch, the parrot named after his former, deceased captain who strikes fear into the hearts of his crew beyond the grave, the Bristolian accent. He is devious, cunning and devilishly charismatic. He works his way onto the crew by currying favour, acts as a surrogate father for Jim when convenient, and thinks nothing of shooting those who get in his way at point blank range. He is the ultimate pirate, and a completely believable portrait of someone driven purely by greed, stripped of all remorse and gifted by wile.

A brilliant tale of adventure containing a timeless meditation on good versus evil.


The Ebb Tide

And then there's the other story, tacked on to the end. From the outset the tone is very different; its target audience is clearly supposed to be older. While the settings and themes are similar, this tale is murkier, bleaker in its delivery. There are three principal characters, none of whom are good. They are all wash-ups on the shores of a British colonial holding in the South Pacific. Before long, they set to plotting their fortune via theft on the high seas...

Ok, I'll be honest: I didn't finish this story. It was a struggle from the outset, and there is much meandering on the backstory of each character. Stevenson, ever the moralist, seems to condemn them each for making poor choices which have led them to this juncture, or by the very fact they have character traits which orient them towards idleness, debauchery and trickery. This is Treasure Island without the heroes, wherein the pirates are not fierce but drunken and pathetic.

Perhaps interesting as an insight to colonial attitudes of the 19th Century, otherwise this is a short story but a long slog. If you're looking for adventure stick to Treasure Island.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Allora, partiamo dal semplice fatto che a me piacciono le storie di pirati. Quando ero bambina uno dei miei cartoni preferiti era Treasure Planet e, da adulta, una delle mie serie preferite è tutt'ora Black Sails. Leggere Treasure Island mi sembrava quindi un passaggio obbligato, anche solo perché si tratta dell'opera che ha reso celebri i pirati nel mondo della letteratura.
Devo ammettere che non mi aspettavo molto dall'opera in sé ed invece ne sono rimasta piacevolmente stupita. Nonostante lo stile non sempre scorrevole, la storia risulta comunque avvincente e si legge con estremo piacere. I personaggi principali sono risultati più interessanti di quello che mi aspettassi: la menzione d'onore va ovviamente a Long John Silver, perché un "cattivo" ben scritto ed accattivante non può che starmi simpatico.
Tra l'effetto nostalgia ed il sincero piacere che ho avuto nel leggere, 4 stelle se le prende tutte.

Mi trovo invece di parere totalmente opposto per quanto riguarda The Ebb-Tide. Una storia "d'avventura" senza capo né coda, con dei protagonisti volutamente "inetti" ma che non riescono a suscitare nel lettore neanche un briciolo di empatia. Il tutto reso ancora più indigesto dai continui commenti razzisti e misogini di tutti i personaggi. Certo, Stevenson era uomo del suo tempo, bianco e Tory, purtroppo non avevo aspettative altissime a riguardo ma capirete che mi è possibile empatizzare per dei personaggi che, oltre ad essere veramente inutili nella loro stessa storia (cosa che, ammetto, in certi altri libri potrebbe portare a degli interessanti character studies) sono anche razzisti e misogini. Diciamo che qui il problema sorge, perché l'essere "razzisti e misogni" non è un plot point della narrazione, quanto, chiaramente una nozione condivisa dal narratore. In tutto ciò il libro si conclude con il pentimento di uno dei protagonisti ed il suo "ritorno al Signore" (????).
Sembra quasi che i due libri non siano stati scritti dalla stessa persona. 2 stelle, perché sono generosa.

Per concludere, la scelta di accostare queste due opere nello stesso volume mi ha decisamente rovinato la lettura. Soprattutto, lo cosa mi ha fatto chiedere sinceramente se alla Penguin non si fossero ubriacati (a rum).

[Zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time reading Treasure Island, and I had somehow avoided watching any adaptations (including the Muppets). So, while I recognised some of the more famous moments that have become firmly established in pop culture knowledge, I didn’t really know what to expect when I started reading. The story was gripping and had good pacing, but I found it hard to imagine how a child would understand the content. I would have preferred for this edition to come with footnotes on the text, as whole paragraphs are basically unintelligible without a knowledge of the different parts of a ship. This actually detracted from my enjoyment of the story, as it took me out of the narrative.

All in all, Treasure Island was good. But what really surprised me was how much I enjoyed Ebb-Tide. It had me from the first sentence. When I began reading, I was confused about why these two stories had been paired together. One is a boy’s adventure tale and the other is very much a story for adults. But it became clear once I read the contemporary review at the end of the book; they are both set on exotic islands, and there are similarities between the stories’ quests, but the former is driven by action and plot, and the latter is a character study which just happens to be set against a dramatic background. Ebb-tide was a captivating critique of colonialism and Christianity, an exploration of personal principles and what it takes to force them to breaking point.

[Aniek Verheul · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for Treasure Island, 3 for The Ebb-Tide, 4 in total because Treasure Island is longer!

Treasure Island is very, very fun to read. The characters are lively and vibrant, the plot is gripping, and the pirate vibes are generally just very nice. I would have liked some more descriptions, as it was a little hard for me to picture certain bits, but that's a minor complaint. I had a great time with this one!

The Ebb-Tide is tonally very different and I'm honestly a little confused why it was put in the same book as Treasure Island, though I guess they're both piratey enough for it to kind of work. I went into it expecting another Treasure Island, which I did not get, but that's on me. Again, the characters are well fleshed-out, though I didn't find them sympathetic or easy to relate to, and the story in general is a bit more confusing. Once I started seeing it as a comedy, it was actually quite fun, but I'm getting the impression it wasn't meant to be one, hence the 3-star rating. The descriptions are much better here!

[evge7 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Schatzinsel - 9/10
Einer meiner Lieblingsfilme immer schon gewesen. Beim Lesen habe ich mir durchgehend die Charaktere, wie die gezeichneten Figuren vorgestellt und im Kopf hatte ich die ganze Zeit die Lieder des einzigartigen Films.
Das Buch hatte ich als Kind schon einmal auf Deutsch gelesen. Damals fand ich Pew unglaublich gruselig! Ich konnte ihn mir richtig gut vorstellen. Jetzt weiß ich nicht, ob ich diesen Gruseleffekt nicht hatte, weil ich älter bin, wusste was passieren wird oder es daran lag, dass ich dieses Mal das Buch auf Englisch gelesen hatte.
Trotzdem super unterhaltsam und sehr spannend!

The Ebb-Tide - 5/10
Ich habe mich leider sehr gelangweilt und konnte mir einfach nicht vorstellen, dass das ein und der selbe Autor sein soll! Verrückt! Auch diese plötzliche Wendung zum Glauben war mir befremdlich.
Aber trotzdem wunderbar geschrieben!

Die Bewertung in Sternen ist anhand des ersten Buchs erfolgt!

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I really wish I had been born a Native speaker of English, but I suppose even then it does not automatically follow I'd properly understand all the nautical terms and seamen's jargon used in this classic. It is really such a shame I could not really enjoy the read because most of the time I found it very hard to imagine what was actually going on.

However, the experience is altogether different with The Ebb-Tide. At first I hadn't had my hopes up high I would force-read myself through another piece of antiquated gibberish. But as I read on, I found myself understanding more than just the gist of the prose, although I'm still not sure whether Herrick should be considered protagonist or antagonist. In any case I found the portrayal of his precarious condition, his malady and disillusionment quite intruiging to observe, as it seems so true to everyday life.