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Treasure Islands
Megaselling biographer, internationally renowned psychologist, ex-comedienne and mother of four (three teenage girls and Billy Connolly), the extraordinary Pamela Stephenson now adopts a new guise - historian, sailor, and circumnavigator of the globe.
In Treasure Islands , Pamela follows in the intrepid footsteps of Fanny Stevenson, maverick wife of the even more maverick Robert Louis. They have much in common - a fascination with the South Seas, a thirst for adventure, a fearlessness and great humour in the face of adversity and unpredictable husbands.
Compelling, intriguing, unputdownable, Treasure Islands is travel/adventure/history/celebrity all rolled into one extraordinary book.
In Treasure Islands , Pamela follows in the intrepid footsteps of Fanny Stevenson, maverick wife of the even more maverick Robert Louis. They have much in common - a fascination with the South Seas, a thirst for adventure, a fearlessness and great humour in the face of adversity and unpredictable husbands.
Compelling, intriguing, unputdownable, Treasure Islands is travel/adventure/history/celebrity all rolled into one extraordinary book.
- GenresTravelNonfiction
384 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 10, 2018
Following in the wake of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson’s boat from 1888, the Casco, Pamela Stephenson travels in her own boat, the Takapuna, named after her birthplace in New Zealand. With a mixed crew of very experienced down to zero experience at sea they set out from Florida in September 2004 to Panama, onto the Galapagos Islands (they just sound amazing) and lots of other archipelagos in the Pacific.
She details some dives in the different French Polynesian islands and they do sound incredible.
It is an entertaining enough travelogue if a little slow and repetitive in places. She does bring in some interesting parallels between her travels and that of Fanny and Louis so you can see if anything has changed in 120 years. Not much it seems in a lot of cases.
She details some dives in the different French Polynesian islands and they do sound incredible.
It is an entertaining enough travelogue if a little slow and repetitive in places. She does bring in some interesting parallels between her travels and that of Fanny and Louis so you can see if anything has changed in 120 years. Not much it seems in a lot of cases.
July 15, 2012
I came across this book when researching Robert Louis and I admit that at first, I was a little concerned at what it might contain - a frivolous search led by a curious rich girl with too much money, perhaps? Still, I thought, a search for Fanny and Louis can't be all THAT frivolous. And it was not.
This is a well-written book that does not smack of over-editing; it seems to be the author's true voice coming through on all occasions, and she is worth listening to. Not only does she have a knack for happy and often original metaphor, but her sometimes gaudy descriptions of her exotic destinations almost always come off as well, and that adds spice to a competent text. All in all, it's very well done.
What about the motives for the trip and how the author deals with the journey itself? Well, it seems obvious that only the very well-heeled could have undertaken such a voyage in the first place, and yet how many of the world's very rich (and the author would probably complain that she is not in that class anyway, though she must be close) ever get their boats out of harbour? So first up, I am impressed that a wealthy woman would get up the nerve to take on something like this and then also see it through. Of course, having plenty of cash helps, but no amount of the green stuff could ever prepare one for a) a sail across the Pacific and b) a lengthy visit to numerous small coral atolls and islands along the way. There is no doubt that it was an arduous journey and at the same time, we can see that it must have been equally arduous for the Stevensons more than 100 years earlier. The book contains a running commentary, usually from Fanny, about the places visited as the modern adventuress, if there is such a thing anymore, traces a very similar route.
I was fascinated by the endless visits to very remote islands, for where Fanny and Louis went, Pamela also had to go. None of it was easy and some of it was downright dangerous and let's face it: very few people will ever have the chance to visit just one or two of these islands, let alone the incredible number this trip managed to tally up. So Pamela Stephenson has done a lot more than write a good book; she has taken us along with her and given us some very intimate detail about a part of the world that, dream as one might, it is unlikely we shall ever see for ourselves.
Thoroughly worth reading, with very little negative to say about it at all, although some readers might want to be careful of the no doubt Billy Connolly-inspired inclusion of various conjugations of one of his favourite four-letter words!
This is a well-written book that does not smack of over-editing; it seems to be the author's true voice coming through on all occasions, and she is worth listening to. Not only does she have a knack for happy and often original metaphor, but her sometimes gaudy descriptions of her exotic destinations almost always come off as well, and that adds spice to a competent text. All in all, it's very well done.
What about the motives for the trip and how the author deals with the journey itself? Well, it seems obvious that only the very well-heeled could have undertaken such a voyage in the first place, and yet how many of the world's very rich (and the author would probably complain that she is not in that class anyway, though she must be close) ever get their boats out of harbour? So first up, I am impressed that a wealthy woman would get up the nerve to take on something like this and then also see it through. Of course, having plenty of cash helps, but no amount of the green stuff could ever prepare one for a) a sail across the Pacific and b) a lengthy visit to numerous small coral atolls and islands along the way. There is no doubt that it was an arduous journey and at the same time, we can see that it must have been equally arduous for the Stevensons more than 100 years earlier. The book contains a running commentary, usually from Fanny, about the places visited as the modern adventuress, if there is such a thing anymore, traces a very similar route.
I was fascinated by the endless visits to very remote islands, for where Fanny and Louis went, Pamela also had to go. None of it was easy and some of it was downright dangerous and let's face it: very few people will ever have the chance to visit just one or two of these islands, let alone the incredible number this trip managed to tally up. So Pamela Stephenson has done a lot more than write a good book; she has taken us along with her and given us some very intimate detail about a part of the world that, dream as one might, it is unlikely we shall ever see for ourselves.
Thoroughly worth reading, with very little negative to say about it at all, although some readers might want to be careful of the no doubt Billy Connolly-inspired inclusion of various conjugations of one of his favourite four-letter words!
April 25, 2019
I was eager to set sail with Pamela Stephenson following in the wake of Fanny and Robert Lewis Stevenson, but it didn’t happen until page 66. Once aboard the Takapuna, a restored yacht big enough for crew and Pamela’s family, it became a fun informative romp through French Polynesia and other obscure and rarely visited Islands. Stephenson is a therapist who jumped her professional ship to sail the vast Pacific. On her journey we learn not just about the Island cultures she visits, but how they were when the Stevenson’s Fanny and Robert landed on them 100 years ago. It is a sad tale in many respects, but one I think deserves to be told. We harbor tropical fantasies about places like the Marquesas because of the images of artist like Gauguin who is buried there. The place is still gorgeous, remote and idyllic, but sadly the native people have not done so well. If you like sly humor, near calamaties, and have a desire to sail these turquoise waters, but know you couldn’t survive the swells you will love this armchair travel adventure.
September 10, 2021
Rated 8/10 Pamela Stephenson bought a yacht to sail in the path of Fanny & Louis Stevenson. Employing a skipper, crew and a variety of invited family and guests she spent most of a year refitting the boat then sailing from Florida down to the South Pacific generally following the Stevenson’s trail and visiting the islands and communities along the way. Indeed she had a somewhat better yacht with modern nav etc, but sailing 19,000 miles is still a feat in itself and certainly not easy on the body or the mind at times. Her insights into the islands folks and how they have coped (or not) with the invasion of foreigners from a variety of backgrounds is interesting, down to the prospects of global warming for these low lying isles. Colonisation was never kind to the islands of the pacific and there are some interesting historical anecdotes relating to the ill fates many suffered.
Pamela writes in an easy relaxed manner making it a mostly enjoyable read especially if one can’t afford to take such a trip themselves.
Pamela writes in an easy relaxed manner making it a mostly enjoyable read especially if one can’t afford to take such a trip themselves.
August 9, 2020
It helps to be rich.
Pamela Stephenson, married to Billy Connolly, the Scottish comedian and actor, was living in Los Angeles and working as a therapist. She tired of her glittery life and decided to betake herself to the South Pacific, following the trail of Jack and Fanny London who, almost 100 years before, had left San Francisco on a sailboat for Australia. What ensued was a lengthy voyage island-hopping with yacht and crew through some of the most beautiful, remote, and saddest places on Earth.
It may surprise to discover that Stephenson, who could easily be accused of unbounded self-indulgence -- her husband's wealth financed her trip, she employed a crew to sail her boat, and she never wanted for food or comfort -- proves a wry and self-reflective observer and chronicler. She doesn't disguise her own failings, and she writes in an untutored but genuine voice. I came both to admire and truly like her as I followed her progress from island to island -- even as I burned with envy for an adventure that my poor circumstances will never allow me to have. And she exhibits sympathy for the people she meets. The islanders of the Pacific suffered terribly from colonialism, which left many grindingly poor. She traveled before the threat to island nations like Vanuatu by sea level rise was widely recognized by the public, so that aspect of their mistreatment is absent.
When her voyage ends she is thinking about extending it to a round-the-world trip. I don't know whether she followed through. But this book is enough. Charming, fun, sometimes self-depracting, "Treasure Islands" deserves to be read by any armchair traveler who dreams of a South Pacific adventure s/he will never be able to have.
Pamela Stephenson, married to Billy Connolly, the Scottish comedian and actor, was living in Los Angeles and working as a therapist. She tired of her glittery life and decided to betake herself to the South Pacific, following the trail of Jack and Fanny London who, almost 100 years before, had left San Francisco on a sailboat for Australia. What ensued was a lengthy voyage island-hopping with yacht and crew through some of the most beautiful, remote, and saddest places on Earth.
It may surprise to discover that Stephenson, who could easily be accused of unbounded self-indulgence -- her husband's wealth financed her trip, she employed a crew to sail her boat, and she never wanted for food or comfort -- proves a wry and self-reflective observer and chronicler. She doesn't disguise her own failings, and she writes in an untutored but genuine voice. I came both to admire and truly like her as I followed her progress from island to island -- even as I burned with envy for an adventure that my poor circumstances will never allow me to have. And she exhibits sympathy for the people she meets. The islanders of the Pacific suffered terribly from colonialism, which left many grindingly poor. She traveled before the threat to island nations like Vanuatu by sea level rise was widely recognized by the public, so that aspect of their mistreatment is absent.
When her voyage ends she is thinking about extending it to a round-the-world trip. I don't know whether she followed through. But this book is enough. Charming, fun, sometimes self-depracting, "Treasure Islands" deserves to be read by any armchair traveler who dreams of a South Pacific adventure s/he will never be able to have.
February 3, 2019
I enjoyed Stephenson’s biographies of her husband Billy Connolly (Billy and Bravemouth) and was eager to see if her novel about following in the footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson’s wife Fanny could hold my interest. I kept turning the pages of this well-written combination of travelogue and diary. Stephenson kits out a 112ft, steel-hulled yacht called Takapuna, complete with a crew, and sets off from Florida with her daughter Scarlett to follow the route the Stevensons took on their South Seas voyage. Over nine months at sea, she island-hopped her way across the Pacific, met fascinating characters and enjoyed the adventure she had been longing for after twenty years of pursuing a career and taking care of her family. Although she had an experienced captain and crew aboard, Stephenson learned how to sail and how to handle a gun in case of pirate attack. The story is peppered with Stephenson’s comedic turn of phrase and, in high seas parlance, it was a rollicking good story.
September 23, 2019
A fascinating book. I’ve read Fanny Stevenson’s voyages with and without RL Stevenson in the Pacific and in the California goldfields. It was great to put a modern slant on it.
February 5, 2020
I'd love to do this same trip. Sounded fascinating
December 1, 2021
My husband read this and his comment was "It was OK, but I wouldn't recommend it."
October 25, 2010
After reading "The Cruise of the Janet Nichol" taken from the diaries of Fanny Stevenson (wife of famed author Robert Lous Stevenson), I felt I had to follow up with this story. Initially I was frustrated with some of Pamela's assumption about sailing life and her obsession with preparing for the worst (pirates and other ne'er do wells all out to get her and her crew) by undertaking weapons training as a precusor to sailing away. But she did undertake some basic sailing training as well, so I came to understand Pamela a lot more as I read further into the story. She seemed to be very insecure and had an amazing lack of confidence in herself, which made me wonder about her confidence in her skipper and crew. It transpires that she and the skipper did have a few disagreements, but that is the way between owners and skippers all over the world. Pamela seemed to think that she could not expect others to undertake security measures unless she also undertook the same responsibility. This is understandable as her teenage daughter would be travelling with them for some parts of the journey, although I think she should have researched the fact that pirates don't really pose a problem in those waters.
I liked this book and really should only award 3 and 1/2 stars, as it didn't inspire me like the original Fanny Stevenson story, but I guess it is hard to live up to an original at any time. After all, Pamela didn't get to travel to islands that were as pristine and untainted as they were in Fanny's time, so the experiences of Pamela and her crew were somewhat less colourful. However, it was reassuring to read that Pamela was very respectful of differing cultures and protocols that are required when visiting villages and islands as uninvited guests. Pam's Treasure Islands does provide some entertaining anecdotes, as well as a reassurance that there are some relatively unchanged communities that would welcome visiting yachties ashore, provided that one makes the right approaches thus making this an experience that can continue for a while longer. Overall, "Treasure Islands" is a good read, and Pamela Stevenson is still the witty, intelligent person we all came to know and love as an adopted Aussie, ex-pat Kiwi, sometime Brit and somewhat Yank.
I liked this book and really should only award 3 and 1/2 stars, as it didn't inspire me like the original Fanny Stevenson story, but I guess it is hard to live up to an original at any time. After all, Pamela didn't get to travel to islands that were as pristine and untainted as they were in Fanny's time, so the experiences of Pamela and her crew were somewhat less colourful. However, it was reassuring to read that Pamela was very respectful of differing cultures and protocols that are required when visiting villages and islands as uninvited guests. Pam's Treasure Islands does provide some entertaining anecdotes, as well as a reassurance that there are some relatively unchanged communities that would welcome visiting yachties ashore, provided that one makes the right approaches thus making this an experience that can continue for a while longer. Overall, "Treasure Islands" is a good read, and Pamela Stevenson is still the witty, intelligent person we all came to know and love as an adopted Aussie, ex-pat Kiwi, sometime Brit and somewhat Yank.
June 9, 2011
I adored every page of this since I am a mad fan of Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife, Fannie. The author recreates their extensive South Seas voyages by buying her own boat, organizing its rehabilitation, hiring a crew...and confounding her entire family who wonder why she can't just stay home.
There are moments that are laugh-out-loud funny, such as Stephenson's preparations for sea travel. A friend in LA calls her and invites her to a peace rally, but Stephenson says she is too busy taking shooting lessons in the dessert.
She is well prepared for life on board, matter of factly describing the voyage and yet, the details are breathtaking.
I loved learning that the islands Fanny depicted are largely the same, unaffected and untouched by stupid us.
This is a tale to savor and I still do, re-reading pages when I feel down. I loved this book and couldn't wait to read Stephenson's next book in which she examines her sea captain great grandfather's disappearance.
There are moments that are laugh-out-loud funny, such as Stephenson's preparations for sea travel. A friend in LA calls her and invites her to a peace rally, but Stephenson says she is too busy taking shooting lessons in the dessert.
She is well prepared for life on board, matter of factly describing the voyage and yet, the details are breathtaking.
I loved learning that the islands Fanny depicted are largely the same, unaffected and untouched by stupid us.
This is a tale to savor and I still do, re-reading pages when I feel down. I loved this book and couldn't wait to read Stephenson's next book in which she examines her sea captain great grandfather's disappearance.
February 21, 2008
Her story of following in the wake of Fanny Stevenson aboard a yacht. She's apparently now a pschyhiatrist, a fact I didn't know. I did know her from Not the Nine O'Clock News and latterly as the wife of Billy Connolly. She doesn't mention the former much at all, although the latter is mentioned quite often.
So, this book would probably be quite entertaining if it wasn't for the constant complaints and crowing about her achievements. Air conditioning, she says, is essential for the tropics. An air-conditioned yacht even better. It certainly would be nice to have air-conditioning, however it's hardly essential. Melting's really not too bad, you know.
So, this book would probably be quite entertaining if it wasn't for the constant complaints and crowing about her achievements. Air conditioning, she says, is essential for the tropics. An air-conditioned yacht even better. It certainly would be nice to have air-conditioning, however it's hardly essential. Melting's really not too bad, you know.
August 26, 2007
Real good travel book but I wouldn't recommend her way of travelling though but I did get carried away with the idea of just getting on a boat and sailing round the islands. She is very witty and the fact that Billy comes aboard throughout her journey only added to the fun
August 24, 2008
Got boring towards the end and repetative.
July 27, 2012
Gives the impression that Pamela's own crew want to kill her, which is not too surprising...
August 16, 2015
An interesting travel tale 3 ½ stars
October 3, 2008
what a load of tripe
June 29, 2012
AMERICAN SAMOA - Horrible book!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews