Treasure Island

Treasure Island is my favourite childhood story. I used to dream of finding hidden treasure on some distant tropical island. My mother would wax lyrical about the Isle of Man, she had many holidays there in the 1920s and 1930s. She called it her ‘treasure island’ and told me about its clear harbour water and golden sands. Well, for those who don’t know, the IOM is a small island in the middle of the cold Irish Sea. Talk about a disappointment when I visited the island. It was freezing cold, wet, dismal, and its capital city Douglas was in the… show more.

Simply the greatest adventure story ever. Jim Hawkins is about 12 years old and possessed of great personal character when he embarks on a journey filled with sailing ships, pirates, deserted islands, treasure, mutiny, and murder.

Between film, TV, theatre, video games, and radio, there have been several adaptions—including sequels and prequels. I’ve read and viewed many of them, but for me, the original novel is the most masterful and remains the most exciting.

It touched me as a child, again as a teenager, and still thrills me as an adult. I also love reading passages aloud to audiences. It… show more.

By picking Treasure Island I’ve given the game away about my inner-self. This adventure story with a capital ‘A' is for every young boy or man, like me, who just will not grow up. Pirates, buried treasure, mutiny, desert islands with one adventure after another. What more can you ask? All told without the grunts and groans of unnecessary sex, gratuitous violence, or gadgets. I didn’t know this until recently, but even a British Prime Minister was a fan—back in the 1880s. 

Anything with excitingly written pirates grabs my attention. This classic is a favorite for many, featuring the charismatic John Silver and his young companion, Jim Hawkins. Treasure Island sails you into an adventure you’ll never forget! Any lover of the sea and the treacherous pirates that sail upon it should pick it up right away! 

You cannot attempt to write a swashbuckling story without first indulging in one of the most iconic pirate stories to date. Teenage Jim Hawkins boards a ship to locate the lost treasure of an infamous pirate and outwits a gang of murderous pirates led by Long John Silver. 

I loved this book because it is the foundation of many beloved pirate stories, with the rush of sailing, the sting of mutiny, the thrill of treasure hunting, the recklessness of pirates, all set in a steamy, tropical paradise.

Simply put, this title is indeed a bonafide pirate classic novel. In fact, many people believe that Stevenson was writing about a real treasure, but what else would a pirate fan think? Real or not, (probably not), Captain Flint, Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins, the Admiral Benbow Inn…these are classic pirate archetypes and they were birthed and nurtured in Stevenson’s story. There are some great, (and not so great), film renditions of the story, but nothing can replace the original novel with all of its glorious detail. Treasure Island can be funny, terrifying, and, in the end, a harsh mistress… show more.

It’s a classic for a reason. This was one of the first pirate stories I ever read myself and it has stuck with me for thirty years. I’ve re-read it several times because the adventure is still thrilling no matter how many times I experience it. Jim Hawkins somehow becomes all of us in this coming-of-age story, and the reader somehow becomes Jim and suffers what he suffers aboard the Hispanola and once on the island. This book will always be a favorite, and once my daughter is old enough to understand it, I can’t wait to read it again… show more.

This is the Ur-book of all literature concerning pirates and children. It’s a book that started out as a map, and I for one love maps. Stevenson drew the map when making up an adventure story to tell his stepson Lloyd Osborne, and he eventually turned the map and the story into this literary masterpiece. We all know the tale – Jim Hawkins, a semi-orphaned Scottish lad, heads off to sea under the charge of a delightful father figure by the name of Long John Silver, a one-legged sea-cook who turns out to be not quite as delightful as… show more.

I used to be put off classic books thinking they’d be a bit old-fashioned, but Treasure Island is a tremendous tale. There are pirates, treasure, exciting fights and escapes, and every chapter ends on such a cliff-hanger that I had to keep reading to find out what happened next. And who can forget the character of Long John Silver – surely the most famous pirate in fiction.

In keeping with books that influenced me to write Off The Map – and this is going back to 2003 when I started the novel – Treasure Island is high up there. I was usually discouraged to find a book that lacked a female character at all but when it comes to Treasure Island it’s just that perfect, succinct, exciting boys’ adventure you don’t get anymore.