Treasure Island
1883
Treasure Island
1883
Treasure Island invented the pirate. Before Stevenson, buccaneers were historical footnotes; after him, they became the dream of parrot-shouldered rogues, X-marked maps, and the terrible freedom of the sea. Young Jim Hawkins begins as an innkeeper's son sorting through a dead man's pockets and ends as a boy who has watched men die for gold. At the heart of the novel beats an uncomfortable truth: the most compelling figure is the villain. Long John Silver is a one-legged cook who quotes Shakespeare between orders for murder, a man who makes you question which side you're on. This is not a simple tale of good against evil. It is a story about the moment a child realizes the world is more dangerous and more magnificent than he imagined. Treasure Island is for anyone who has ever dreamed of running away to sea.
