Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson: A Timeless Adventure of Pirates, Treasure Maps, and High-Seas Action

by Robert Louis Stevenson

138 pages, Paperback

Published December 11, 2024

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

[James Tester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading a classic many, many decades after it's release - especially one which has entered and then influenced pop culture since - can have the effect of trying to take it all seriously; at least for the first few chapters. No work has had such a seismic impact upon a group of characters like Stevenson's Treasure Island and the pirates within the pages. From the ill-fated Billy Bones to the mercurial Long John Silver; talking parrots, wooden legs, X marks the spot treasure maps are all here and accounted for. Once you get past the "dead man's chest, rum, shiver me timbers!" Stevenson's high sea adventure loses none of its charm or ability to thrill, and in young Jim Hawkins creates one of the most likable, brave yet flawed young heroes to follow on voyage. It's easy to love, even easier to enjoy, and doesn't outstay its welcome yet ends on a satisfying note.

[Joan F · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't read this since I was a kid decades ago, so it was fun to reread it.

[Robbie Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy to finally add this classic to my list of finished books. It was an exciting read of suspense, adventure, and mutiny in search of fortune.