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Историята на Дългия Джон Силвър
Now an old man near death, Long John Silver recalls his life as a pirate and the reasons his treasure was buried on Kidd's Island to an adult Jim Hawkins.
196 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1977
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42 people want to read
About the author
Denis Judd
60 books17 followersDenis Judd was born in Northamptonshire in 1938 and educated in a village primary school before passing the 'Eleven Plus' and entering the local grammar school. He won a State Scholarship to Oxford, where he took his first degree in Modern History at Magdalen College, going on to study for a PhD at London University, on: 'A. J. Balfour and the evolution and problems of the British Empire 1874-1906.' He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
He has been Head of History, and is now Professor Emeritus of Imperial and Commonwealth History, at the London Metropolitan University. In his research, writing and broadcasting he has specialised in the British Empire and Commonwealth, especially South Africa and India. He has also written extensively on British history, on aspects of the monarchy, and among his biographies is the authorised life of the children’s author Alison Uttley.
He has been Head of History, and is now Professor Emeritus of Imperial and Commonwealth History, at the London Metropolitan University. In his research, writing and broadcasting he has specialised in the British Empire and Commonwealth, especially South Africa and India. He has also written extensively on British history, on aspects of the monarchy, and among his biographies is the authorised life of the children’s author Alison Uttley.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 10, 2025
I had a lot more fun reading this than Treasure Island.
June 17, 2019
MILD SPOILER ALERT!
It was about 20 years ago. I, an 8-year-old at the time, but already able to read quite well for 3 years, was looking for something to read. At that time I loved reading tales of folklore and was a lot into adventure. I didn't read Treasure Island, but was able to watch an old cartooned feature, which I liked a lot. Then I was at my grandparents' house and was looking for something new. I uncovered a book called "The story of Long John Silver" (I am from Bulgaria, the book is translated, I will refer to it as "LJS" from now on) with an illustration of a cannon on a deck, the open seas, some ship rigging and a young man holding a torch, as if he is about to fire the cannon. The book was set to be written by Denis Judd in 177 and translated in 1986 by Vassil Atanasov in Bulgarian. I straight-away knew it was a pirate book. What I didn't know, was that I would be my night-table must and would be a book I will carry with me everywhere I go until this day.
I will try to take a neutral position as much as I can, though I believe this to be impossible. I LOVE THIS BOOK. Unlike Treasure Island, which looks more like a combination of a few people's journals, gathered together and retold by Jim Hawkins, LJS is supposed to be told from a third person's perspective, but not entirely. As stated in the very first chapter, Jim Hawkins, now a doctor in Gloucestershire, meets the now elderly John Silver, ill of tuberculosis, who wants to tell his story to the world. The story is told by Hawkins from the perspective of John Silver. It starts from pretty much his birth in Bristol in 1716 in the family of a congregationalist-protestant shoesmith for a father and an Anglican for a mother, which created an internal turmoil from a very young age. He initially started helping his father in the shoeshop, but was already very intelligent and was also taught to read by his mother, something that would save his life in the future. The book explains how he initially became a part of a smuggler gang, but after a betrayal he escaped on board of a slave-trading vessel named the "Osprey". The ship would go from Bristol to Guinea to pick slaves, to sell them in the West Indies and to return back to Bristol. During its cruises Silver meets Gabriel Pew ("Blind Pew" from Treasure Island) and gets his nickname, "Barbecue". The story shows how he was able to save himself from the gallows after a mutiny on the "Osprey" and is sold as a slave in Barbados, where he meets his future wife Anette, how both are rescued by captain England and his crew during a pirate raid. Then he meets Billy Bones and Jethro Flint, respectively a first mate and quartermaster at that time, as well as a few other sailors he will sail with later under Flint. He eventually leaves Anette in New Providence (Bahamas) and joins England as a boatswain of "Casandra", England's ship on his cruise to the coast of Malabar and here the famous encounter with "Viceroy of India" occurs. He eventually returns and moves to Jamaica with his wife and his son, where they have a second son and open a small pub. Eventually he meets Pew again and joins Flint's crew as a quartermaster of "Walrus". They get a letter of marque in 1745 to sail with then captain Hawke to the Louisiana coasts. In the upcoming years Flint becomes notorious in the Caribbean with his brutality, even though the crew and the ship were practically commanded by Bones, the first mate, and Silver, the quartermaster, as Flint more and more often would be drunk of rum. In 1754 Flint and his crew execute a raid on the Spanish Silver fleet, stealing over 700 000 Pounds and burying it eventually on Kidd island. Flint dies soon after, Bones steals the map of the treasure and Silver, now with one leg, returns to Bristol to create the Spyglass tavern and to find a way to get the treasure. The book ends with the first meeting of Silver and Hawkins in the tavern.
LJS is a great book, easy to read by children and adults alike. It describes Silver as a large in posture, cunning anti-hero, who is a pirate, but also a good man. Unlike Flint of Pew he wouldn't kill people for no reason and his high intelligence and leadership skills are prominently described in the book.
In my humble opinion, there is a whole bunch of Treasure Island adaptations, but if someone decides to make an adaptation of LJS, it would most likely become one of the best, if not the best, pirate movie there is. The book is not that broad and would make an excellent script. The story is great, tragic at moments and is tied to the world history events in such a great way that it looks almost as if it really had happened. Denis Judd really shows his knowledge of history, because he tied the story marvelously.
As a conclusion I would like to say that this book has, is and will remain my all-time favourite. It is highly-recommended for all fans of swashbuckling adventures, but for pirate fans it is a must. Pirates of the Caribbean is not bad, but is all too cheesy. If you want a good pirate story, read Long John Silver by Denis Judd.
It was about 20 years ago. I, an 8-year-old at the time, but already able to read quite well for 3 years, was looking for something to read. At that time I loved reading tales of folklore and was a lot into adventure. I didn't read Treasure Island, but was able to watch an old cartooned feature, which I liked a lot. Then I was at my grandparents' house and was looking for something new. I uncovered a book called "The story of Long John Silver" (I am from Bulgaria, the book is translated, I will refer to it as "LJS" from now on) with an illustration of a cannon on a deck, the open seas, some ship rigging and a young man holding a torch, as if he is about to fire the cannon. The book was set to be written by Denis Judd in 177 and translated in 1986 by Vassil Atanasov in Bulgarian. I straight-away knew it was a pirate book. What I didn't know, was that I would be my night-table must and would be a book I will carry with me everywhere I go until this day.
I will try to take a neutral position as much as I can, though I believe this to be impossible. I LOVE THIS BOOK. Unlike Treasure Island, which looks more like a combination of a few people's journals, gathered together and retold by Jim Hawkins, LJS is supposed to be told from a third person's perspective, but not entirely. As stated in the very first chapter, Jim Hawkins, now a doctor in Gloucestershire, meets the now elderly John Silver, ill of tuberculosis, who wants to tell his story to the world. The story is told by Hawkins from the perspective of John Silver. It starts from pretty much his birth in Bristol in 1716 in the family of a congregationalist-protestant shoesmith for a father and an Anglican for a mother, which created an internal turmoil from a very young age. He initially started helping his father in the shoeshop, but was already very intelligent and was also taught to read by his mother, something that would save his life in the future. The book explains how he initially became a part of a smuggler gang, but after a betrayal he escaped on board of a slave-trading vessel named the "Osprey". The ship would go from Bristol to Guinea to pick slaves, to sell them in the West Indies and to return back to Bristol. During its cruises Silver meets Gabriel Pew ("Blind Pew" from Treasure Island) and gets his nickname, "Barbecue". The story shows how he was able to save himself from the gallows after a mutiny on the "Osprey" and is sold as a slave in Barbados, where he meets his future wife Anette, how both are rescued by captain England and his crew during a pirate raid. Then he meets Billy Bones and Jethro Flint, respectively a first mate and quartermaster at that time, as well as a few other sailors he will sail with later under Flint. He eventually leaves Anette in New Providence (Bahamas) and joins England as a boatswain of "Casandra", England's ship on his cruise to the coast of Malabar and here the famous encounter with "Viceroy of India" occurs. He eventually returns and moves to Jamaica with his wife and his son, where they have a second son and open a small pub. Eventually he meets Pew again and joins Flint's crew as a quartermaster of "Walrus". They get a letter of marque in 1745 to sail with then captain Hawke to the Louisiana coasts. In the upcoming years Flint becomes notorious in the Caribbean with his brutality, even though the crew and the ship were practically commanded by Bones, the first mate, and Silver, the quartermaster, as Flint more and more often would be drunk of rum. In 1754 Flint and his crew execute a raid on the Spanish Silver fleet, stealing over 700 000 Pounds and burying it eventually on Kidd island. Flint dies soon after, Bones steals the map of the treasure and Silver, now with one leg, returns to Bristol to create the Spyglass tavern and to find a way to get the treasure. The book ends with the first meeting of Silver and Hawkins in the tavern.
LJS is a great book, easy to read by children and adults alike. It describes Silver as a large in posture, cunning anti-hero, who is a pirate, but also a good man. Unlike Flint of Pew he wouldn't kill people for no reason and his high intelligence and leadership skills are prominently described in the book.
In my humble opinion, there is a whole bunch of Treasure Island adaptations, but if someone decides to make an adaptation of LJS, it would most likely become one of the best, if not the best, pirate movie there is. The book is not that broad and would make an excellent script. The story is great, tragic at moments and is tied to the world history events in such a great way that it looks almost as if it really had happened. Denis Judd really shows his knowledge of history, because he tied the story marvelously.
As a conclusion I would like to say that this book has, is and will remain my all-time favourite. It is highly-recommended for all fans of swashbuckling adventures, but for pirate fans it is a must. Pirates of the Caribbean is not bad, but is all too cheesy. If you want a good pirate story, read Long John Silver by Denis Judd.
September 1, 2025
The adventures described in this book could have been quite exciting… if only they weren’t tied to "Treasure Island". Strangely enough, Denis Judd is a historian, yet "The Adventures of Long John Silver" reads like a thoroughly modern novel, completely lacking the atmosphere of the original.
In "Treasure Island", Captain Flint was almost a chthonic monster - long dead, yet his very memory struck fear into the hearts of even the bravest men. Here, however, Flint isn’t frightening at all; he comes across more as a mild annoyance to the protagonist. The same goes for Billy Bones. Stevenson gave us only a few pages with him, yet he left an unforgettable impression. In this book, Mr. Bones is barely distinguishable from the other pirates, despite his major role in the plot.
And then there’s John Silver himself. In Stevenson’s tale, he was the only man Flint ever feared - an awe-inspiring figure. But here? He feels like a friendly, almost agreeable character, completely different from the cunning, dangerous man we know from the original.
In the end, "The Adventures of Long John Silver" reads more like fan fiction than a true continuation of Treasure Island.
In "Treasure Island", Captain Flint was almost a chthonic monster - long dead, yet his very memory struck fear into the hearts of even the bravest men. Here, however, Flint isn’t frightening at all; he comes across more as a mild annoyance to the protagonist. The same goes for Billy Bones. Stevenson gave us only a few pages with him, yet he left an unforgettable impression. In this book, Mr. Bones is barely distinguishable from the other pirates, despite his major role in the plot.
And then there’s John Silver himself. In Stevenson’s tale, he was the only man Flint ever feared - an awe-inspiring figure. But here? He feels like a friendly, almost agreeable character, completely different from the cunning, dangerous man we know from the original.
In the end, "The Adventures of Long John Silver" reads more like fan fiction than a true continuation of Treasure Island.
March 10, 2022
A good book that could answer many questions in treasure island.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews