Treasure Island is the best pirate novel ever written. All the tropes and pirate myths that we know come from Stevenson: the black spot, the parrot, the treasure map, etc. It's also morally ambiguous, which I love. Written in the 1800's, it has stood the test of time.
@@richardgurney1844 I think regardless if they did or not, the idea is that treasure island is what brought those things into the pop culture identity of pirates :)
You are right, and Robert Newton in Disney's version of Treasure Island is the reason we all picture pirates acting and talking that way. Here's a taste of Robert Newton as Long John Silver: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6TktTeF3PaY.html
I watched that play too! It was so good (those sets! 😍) and made me want to read the book, but I still haven't gotten around to it. I wish I could forget all the plot points first 😂
I live in Kurdistan. And I’m 12th grade. In my country half of the 12th grade’s English text book is dedicated to the treasure island. We have to memorize the names of the characters and the scenes of the story and also a small section of the author’s biography 😊
Wonderful reviews Merphy. Maybe you should give the tv show Black Sails a try. It was created as a prequel to Treasure Island and it's by far the best thing that I have ever seen on tv. Nuanced, highly entertaining and a bit heartbreaking. But you can't go wrong with pirates.
Since you love Treasure Island. I highly recommend the movies Treasure Plant and Muppet Treasure Island. Treasure Plant is Treasure Island but in space with beautiful art direction. Muppet Treasure Island is Treasure Island with Muppet and Tim Currry.
I read Frenchman's Creek, then watched your review. I totally agreed that I was not ready for this book to be over, so I indulged myself and re-read it immediately. I'm so glad I did. Now I can't decide what to read next. 😢 I loved this book so much!!!
Shameless plug: Treasure Island AND Treasure Planet inspired me so much that I actually wrote my own retelling of the story. Such a gem of fiction. Highly recommend to everyone (the original classic, I mean, not my book. But also buy my book lol).
My favorite real-world pirate story is "A pirate of exquisite mind", about buccaneer naturalist William Dampier. While traveling around with a crew trying (mostly not that successfully) to steal Spanish gold, he was taking notes on turtles and wind direction and such. He wrote a popular memoir (which was carried on THEIR voyages by Humbolt and Darwin) and got given command of a Naval journey of exploration to Western Australia... This guy needs a movie.
My favourite origin story for a book is the mr men: Hargreaves son asked him what a tickle looked like so he drew a character with long arms and told his son the story of mr tickle 😍
If you like Treasure Island I recommend watching the show "Black Sails". It's the prequel. And has some of the characters in it (like long John Silver)
I need more pirate book recommendations. Treasure Island is on my TBR list and I definitely will read it once I finish watching Black Sails. I just got The Lies of Locke Lamora through my library and I know its sequel has a ship on the cover. I’m super excited for both of these books and can’t wait to find more pirate centered novels to fall in love with.
I love Treasure Island. It was one of my favorite books I read as a child. I'm writing an adult novel right now that is a bit of a re-imaging of Treasure Island. The setting is mid 1800's Nepal where a guest at a teahouse (Nepal's version of a bed and breakfast) who is part of the dark world of underground societies, has a map to a magic shaman. After this guest is murdered over the map, the teahouse owner's granddaughter decides to use the map to search for the magic shaman... So, instead a sea adventure it becomes a Himalayan expedition full of, not pirates, but underground secrete societies.
@@lenamoser3888 Thank you, Lena. It's a sequel to my debut novel, The Watcher And The Traveler. I am nearly finished with the first draft. I am still seeking more beta readers, if that's something you've ever thought of doing? Anyways, I write historical fiction with fantasy and metaphysical elements. Thank you for the kind reply.
Definitely going to check out your debut novel! As to beta reading: thank you for asking! Under different circumstances than my current ones I would have been interested for sure and I do actually work as a copy editor (for academic texts, though). However, I'm currently writing my PhD (in History) and don't think I could add anything to my workload :/
It's been many, many years since I read Treasure Island. I remembered enjoying it, but that's all I remembered. But I do need to add Frenchman's Creek to my TBR.
Gosh I love Robert Louis Stevenson. Treasure island, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Kidnapped are three of my favorite books of all time. Billy bones and the black spot delivered by the blind pirate. Iconic! I love it.
Recently bought a fantastic board game "Treasure Island" based on the book. The board is a dry erase map. You either play as Long John and give hints to the pirates until you can escape and get the treasure yourself or you are a pirate trying to get the treasure before Long John.
Oh gosh! What a coincidence! I'm currently reading Ship Of Magic by Robin Hobb! It's my first Hobb. I decided to start with Liveship because Assassin's Apprentice, that whole plotline does NOT appeal to me and I've heard better things about Liveship than Assassin's in general(except for Fitz) O.K. Robin Hobb is... interesting. The book is incredibly slow, but I keep turning pages because of the incredible characters and her beautiful prose. And also, I'm just a sucker for well written powerful female characters which so far, I am getting in PLENTY. The coincidence btw is in the pirates plotlines.
I really like Stevenson, one of the first classics I properly got into was Kidnapped (followed by Catriona) and they might just be my favourite classics ever. I definitely have a soft spot for David Balfour and I highly recommend. I didn't expect much from it the first time I read it, I just thought I've had this collection of classics since I was 10 I had probably better read one (about 6/7 years later), I started off thinking 'its enjoyably written, I'm kind of into it' and then at the end of chapter 1 I had a kind of "wait what" moment and I was hooked from there on out. Also, I love how in treasure island Jim just does a series of random - sometimes seemingly stupid things, and they tend to wind up saving everyone. for example on the stupid end of things leaving the camp on his own when they were essentially at war with the pirates and he wound up winning the ship back as a result
Frenchman's Creek sounds *so* good! I'm always out for actually good Pirate books 😍 I had the Treasure Island audiobook as a child and I found it very scary 🙈
Hey Merphy, can you link your first One Piece review with the second one? People seem to have a problem finding the first review judging by the comments.
This may go long. R.L.S. wrote a popular story/book "The Imp in the Bottle " not well known today. An allegory of alcoholism, most interesting to research R.L.S. death and the aftermath regarding that story.
I just finished reading Frenchman's Creek, based on your recommendation. It definitely doesn't fit with the genres I usually read, but I really enjoyed it.
Definitely second the Black Sails recommendation that others have mentioned. Along with the Treasure Island characters (Captain Flint, John Silver, Billy Bones) the show includes real life pirates like Charles Vane, Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, and Calico Jack Rackham (a big influence of Jack Sparrow). With 38 episodes, it's a complete story with one of the best endings I've ever seen. Knowing what you like in books I think you would love it. Flint and Silver's relationship is the backbone of the show, and we get to see the rise of Long John Silver. Side note - the actor that plays Silver (Luke Arnold) is an author that's written several fantasy noir novels that are interesting and I really recommend them.
Treasure Island was my favorite classic until I read The Master and Margarita last year, but this video has brought back so many feelings and now I'm questioning everything
"Treasure Island" was a super fun read also for me :) I don't get why people are getting upset / don't like when the characters do some medical practice that was common at the time in which the story happens. I saw people complaining about the way that the author "portrayed" ( :D ) blood transfusion in Dracula, and I couldn't believe what some people were writing.
I have a very fond and fun memory of treasure island, before we read that book for our English class we read great expectation and when we got to treasure island, every time in my head I would call Jim as pip, took me months to get them apart 😅
He is said to be "Blackbeard's bo'sun" and "the only man of whom Barbecue was afraid" (In Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, one of the names Long John Silver goes by is Barbecue.) Captain Hook page on Wikipedia. Connections are fun.
Just a few years ago I read Treasure Island for the first time myself, and that because I was in the middle of watching Black Sails on STARZ. Very different tones from book to loose prequel show, and a casting whose brilliance time gradually reveals.
“I loved loved loved it” I’m guessing you loved this book. Also, i know you are not a movie person but you should watch treasure planet which was based off treasure island. Everything you talked about is in this movie.
I just finished the audiobook of Treasure Island! I wasn’t paying attention (bc my mom just came in and asked me about lunch) and then the book just ended! I was so was so confused! Like I’ve seen the Muppet Treasure Island like a million times, and that has an excellent ending (even if some parts of the film has def aged poorly) so I was expecting at least half an hour more. But idk maybe I was listening to an abridged version or something. I haven’t read the other one, I’ll have to check it out next!
You definitely should check out the show Black Sails. It is basically a prequel to Treasure Island disguised as a period piece, and it is truly one of the best tv shows ever. Brilliant dialogue, great action, masterful character development (including an origin story for John Silver), plus real historical context. Every character is morally grey and you always understand their point of view, and alliances shift constantly, which makes it impossible to predict what will happen next or who to root for. The first few episodes have their flaws (e.g. they overdid the titillation) but once the story gets going it just gets better and better. Highly recommended, but definitely NOT for kids :-)
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum The mate was fixed by the bos'n' pike, the bos'n' brained with a marlin spike and cookey's throat was marked belike, It had been gripped by fingers ten, There they lay all good dead men like break o' day in a boozing ken, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Thank heavens! If you didn't like Frenchman's Creek, I was going to cry! I didn't like the ending much either, so we agree there. I didn't miss the kids not being in it at all though. LOL
The way you talk about DuMaurier is the way I feel about Ray Bradbury. Especially when it comes to an author being able to put me in a specific scenario and make me feel like I am actually there
Robert Louis Stevenson is one of my favourite classic authors. Treasure Island is my favourite of his books. 😊 Fun fact, I have two first edition copies of Catriona by Stevenson. Found them for £3 and £5 in the same second hand book shop a few weeks apart.
Please do a review of Mistborn; Hero of Ages.....I saw your reviews on the first two Mistborn books and it was great...but when I looked for the third it wasn't there.
I love Dickens! In my town there is a small Dickens museum in one of the oldest streets (my European town is over 1250 years old). There are also several Dickens murals (and a secret garden one for some reason) and every year in december normally there is a Dickens festival with period dressed actors who play out scenes. Which attracts loads of international tourists. I volunteer every year because it's so much fun to be there.
I read Treasure Island every Summer. Just finished it again this morning, as a matter of fact. Everything Silver does benefits him; Long John is the great chameleon who always angles towards the winning side. Your point about Silver being "mad" about the pirate who "cut a Bible" is not quite right, in my opinion: for while you describe Long John as being angry about the Bible being used for the Black Spot, Silver was actually just screwing with his crew, using the moment to plant seeds of doubt into those who are working to depose him as Captain. Time and again, throughout this wondrous classic, Long John Silver displays his great intellect as he manipulates everyone around him to, first, aim for the outcome he desires, and barring that, to sidle up to his foes and switch sides, if necessary, whenever his fortunes appear to be changing in the negative. And even then, as Jim Hawkins views at the empty money pit, Long John Silver still has eyes on taking the gold, and the ship, and making sure that dead men tell no tales, before riding off with the Jolly Roger flying high, under his own terms. Really enjoyed your review. What a great book, huh?!
The ‘love’ happened . . . . . BEFORE she met him, “when she first saw his ship” Arrrrgggh so frustrating But yes, another enjoyable du Maurier and glad we read it.
Normally I do, but her husband had many affairs and while I don't condone cheating, I do condone her getting out of a marriage that was very bad and following a better future for herself Edit: not to say that she was a good wife either. Both characters weren't great people
