What do you think?
Rate this book
Return to Treasure Island
The swashbuckling Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver journey back to the legendary Treasure Island and face mutiny, capture by Spaniards, treachery in Jamaica, slavery in Mexico, and romance for Jim with the lovely Isabella Zorillo
- GenresFiction
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
13 people want to read
About the author
John Goldsmith
8 books2 followersJohn was born in London in 1947 and educated at Winchester, where he won the Queen’s Gold Medal for English Verse, and the University of Aix-Marseille (Diplome de langue et lettres Francaises.). At the age of 21 he sold his first novel, Mrs. Mount, Ascendant, to Leonard Woolf at the Hogarth Press. He subsequently worked for Hogarth/Chatto & Windus as a part-time reader and editor while breaking into TV by contributing episodes to the action-adventure series The Protectors.
After a short stretch in business he returned to full-time writing with the publication of his second novel, The Icing of Balthazar, in 1977, and a script for the cult sci-fi series Space, 1999. He also took on freelance editing work, with Edna Healy’s Lady Unknown, Sir John Gielgud’s An Actor And His Time, and the art historian Roger Hinx’s acclaimed Gymnasium of the Mind. He gave up this sort of work in 1986 having reached the summit of Sir Stephen Spender’s Journals. During this period he also contributed scripts to vintage British TV series including The New Avengers, The Return of the Saint and The Professionals.
In film and television, since the late 1980’s he has concentrated on historical subjects (Catherine The Great; Kings In Grass Castles; Paradise Found; A Bear Named Winnie; La Belle Otero ), classic adaptations (Great Expectations; The Old Curiosity Shop; David Copperfield; Kidnapped) and Biblical epics (In The Beginning; Mary Mother of Jesus; The Gospel of John). He started writing for the American market in 1987 with The Disney Channel’s thirteen-hour swashbuckler Return To Treasure Island.
He has published three other novels, including his child of shame, the airport bookstall blockbuster Bullion (1982). He has also published numerous children’s books.
His TV documentary Mrs Livingstone, I Presume won the Silver Award at the New York International Film and TV Festival. His feature adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Danny, Champion Of The World was nominated for an ACE in the writing category and won the award for Childrens’ Programming 9+, picking up five more awards in various festivals and countries. His Waltz Through The Hills picked up numerous awards, including the 1988 Australian Pater Award. As writer, he was
Nominated for an Emmy in 1998-99 for The Island On Bird Street and the movie itself won Best Picture in its category. His critically acclaimed mini series Victoria & Albert was nominated for Best Mini Series at Banff in 2002. His Gospel of John won the Templeton Foundation Epiphany Award in 2003. In 2005 he was nominated for a Gemini Award for A Bear Named Winnie.
In 1978 he published the best-selling Voyage In The Beagle, an account of the re-enactment of Darwin’s famous voyage in which he served as a crew member of the replica ship that featured in the BBC series The Voyage of Charles Darwin. Darwin resurfaced in his 2008 movie Darwin’s Darkest Hour.
His current projects include a feature on Mao Zedong, China Skies, a stage musical based on David Copperfield, an opera based on The Epic of Gilgamesh, a feature set in Australia, To The Bitter End, and a feature adaptation of Dante’s Inferno.
He is married and lives in Hampstead. His only son was killed in a car crash in France in 2005.
For a full list of screen credits go to:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0326089/
After a short stretch in business he returned to full-time writing with the publication of his second novel, The Icing of Balthazar, in 1977, and a script for the cult sci-fi series Space, 1999. He also took on freelance editing work, with Edna Healy’s Lady Unknown, Sir John Gielgud’s An Actor And His Time, and the art historian Roger Hinx’s acclaimed Gymnasium of the Mind. He gave up this sort of work in 1986 having reached the summit of Sir Stephen Spender’s Journals. During this period he also contributed scripts to vintage British TV series including The New Avengers, The Return of the Saint and The Professionals.
In film and television, since the late 1980’s he has concentrated on historical subjects (Catherine The Great; Kings In Grass Castles; Paradise Found; A Bear Named Winnie; La Belle Otero ), classic adaptations (Great Expectations; The Old Curiosity Shop; David Copperfield; Kidnapped) and Biblical epics (In The Beginning; Mary Mother of Jesus; The Gospel of John). He started writing for the American market in 1987 with The Disney Channel’s thirteen-hour swashbuckler Return To Treasure Island.
He has published three other novels, including his child of shame, the airport bookstall blockbuster Bullion (1982). He has also published numerous children’s books.
His TV documentary Mrs Livingstone, I Presume won the Silver Award at the New York International Film and TV Festival. His feature adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Danny, Champion Of The World was nominated for an ACE in the writing category and won the award for Childrens’ Programming 9+, picking up five more awards in various festivals and countries. His Waltz Through The Hills picked up numerous awards, including the 1988 Australian Pater Award. As writer, he was
Nominated for an Emmy in 1998-99 for The Island On Bird Street and the movie itself won Best Picture in its category. His critically acclaimed mini series Victoria & Albert was nominated for Best Mini Series at Banff in 2002. His Gospel of John won the Templeton Foundation Epiphany Award in 2003. In 2005 he was nominated for a Gemini Award for A Bear Named Winnie.
In 1978 he published the best-selling Voyage In The Beagle, an account of the re-enactment of Darwin’s famous voyage in which he served as a crew member of the replica ship that featured in the BBC series The Voyage of Charles Darwin. Darwin resurfaced in his 2008 movie Darwin’s Darkest Hour.
His current projects include a feature on Mao Zedong, China Skies, a stage musical based on David Copperfield, an opera based on The Epic of Gilgamesh, a feature set in Australia, To The Bitter End, and a feature adaptation of Dante’s Inferno.
He is married and lives in Hampstead. His only son was killed in a car crash in France in 2005.
For a full list of screen credits go to:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0326089/
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 1, 2016
If you don't know the story, there's no open spoilers here, and if you do, you'll understand those spoilers.
Well, this wasn't as good or as bad as I'd expected. I picked it up purely because I love the movie and wanted to see if the books would be as good, or at least give some insight into some of the characters.
It's exactly like the movie, and at times because of that there's more showing than telling, a problem the movie did not have. Also, since it's told primarily from Jim Hawkins point of view, there's a few scenes in the movie which we aren't privy to in here. (Long John Silver in prison with the tongue-less man, etc.)
I liked that we see Silver's play acting a bit better here, in the movie I had moments I really wasn't sure if he was sincere or fooling, and now having read it I know exactly what he's up to in each scene.
One of the main reasons I picked this up was because I wanted to see how Conchita would be portrayed. But (and this is not a spoiler if you haven't read the book or seen the movie), there was NO Conchita here! Every scene with her is missing. Which means that the plot in the book had to be changed a bit, so as to accommodate the hole in the plot caused by her exclusion.
I was VERY disappointed! She and Long John Silver have always been my favorites. I always liked her better than the snooty Isabelle.
Which brings me to my other gripe.
Where was my favorite humorous yet realistic scene with Jim and Isabelle which that are reunited? She runs to hug him, then pulls away with a 'Oh, you smell!' It makes her halfway human and it was not here. The chemistry between them was thus lost a little.
Then there's Silver, who says not to worry about the gallows until you start to swing, then start worrying! Nope, not here.
So this could have been 5 stars, like the movie, but the telling took it down to 4, the shortening of the plot and a few of my favorite lines has brough that down to 3 1/2.
I guess I was hoping for it to be just like the movie, not a clipped version.
In other words, not a waste of money since it wasn't an expensive book, but if you are interested in the continuation of Treasure Island, the movie is better.
PG Some shooting, fighting and piraty things.
An interesting note: I've never read Treasure Island. I wonder if Silver is the same villain he is here.
Well, this wasn't as good or as bad as I'd expected. I picked it up purely because I love the movie and wanted to see if the books would be as good, or at least give some insight into some of the characters.
It's exactly like the movie, and at times because of that there's more showing than telling, a problem the movie did not have. Also, since it's told primarily from Jim Hawkins point of view, there's a few scenes in the movie which we aren't privy to in here. (Long John Silver in prison with the tongue-less man, etc.)
I liked that we see Silver's play acting a bit better here, in the movie I had moments I really wasn't sure if he was sincere or fooling, and now having read it I know exactly what he's up to in each scene.
One of the main reasons I picked this up was because I wanted to see how Conchita would be portrayed. But (and this is not a spoiler if you haven't read the book or seen the movie), there was NO Conchita here! Every scene with her is missing. Which means that the plot in the book had to be changed a bit, so as to accommodate the hole in the plot caused by her exclusion.
I was VERY disappointed! She and Long John Silver have always been my favorites. I always liked her better than the snooty Isabelle.
Which brings me to my other gripe.
Where was my favorite humorous yet realistic scene with Jim and Isabelle which that are reunited? She runs to hug him, then pulls away with a 'Oh, you smell!' It makes her halfway human and it was not here. The chemistry between them was thus lost a little.
Then there's Silver, who says not to worry about the gallows until you start to swing, then start worrying! Nope, not here.
So this could have been 5 stars, like the movie, but the telling took it down to 4, the shortening of the plot and a few of my favorite lines has brough that down to 3 1/2.
I guess I was hoping for it to be just like the movie, not a clipped version.
In other words, not a waste of money since it wasn't an expensive book, but if you are interested in the continuation of Treasure Island, the movie is better.
PG Some shooting, fighting and piraty things.
An interesting note: I've never read Treasure Island. I wonder if Silver is the same villain he is here.
June 2, 2021
It follows the TV series almost exactly, only removing and adding a few things. A really enjoyable addition is reading character thoughts you couldn't before. Motives and perspectives are more clear than they will sometimes be in the TV series.
I feel like this sequel took a lot of things from the original story and improved on it, especially the usually quite flat character of Jim, who doesn't seem changed but just expanded upon based on small original traits.
All the new major characters like Isabella, van Der Brecken and Reverend Morgan were really interesting and likeable. The same goes for the the return of the original characters.
Though it's really similar, I absolutely feel like it adds enough for it to be worth reading even if you've already seen the TV series.
I feel like this sequel took a lot of things from the original story and improved on it, especially the usually quite flat character of Jim, who doesn't seem changed but just expanded upon based on small original traits.
All the new major characters like Isabella, van Der Brecken and Reverend Morgan were really interesting and likeable. The same goes for the the return of the original characters.
Though it's really similar, I absolutely feel like it adds enough for it to be worth reading even if you've already seen the TV series.
May 16, 2014
Long John Silver lives to fight another day... Remember the 80's TV series vaguely and found the book lurking on a shelf.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews