Crossword Dictionary
Treasure Island (Novel)
Treasure Island (originally titled The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys) is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, telling a story of "buccaneers and buried gold". It is considered a coming-of-age story and is noted for its atmosphere, characters, and action.
The novel was originally serialized from 1881 to 1882 in the children's magazine Young Folks, under the title Treasure Island or the Mutiny of the Hispaniola, credited to the pseudonym "Captain George North". It was first published as a book on 14 November 1883 by Cassell & Co. It has since become one of the most often dramatized and adapted of all novels, in numerous media.
Since its publication, Treasure Island has had significant influence on depictions of pirates in popular culture, including elements such as deserted tropical islands, treasure maps marked with an "X", and one-legged seamen with parrots perched on their shoulders.
Plot
The book tells the story of an impulsive and adventurous young boy named Jim Hawkins who comes across a treasure map. He goes on a journey to try and recover the treasure, which once belonged to the famous Captain Flint. On his journey, he meets Long John Silver, a one-legged cook who ends up leading a pirate mutiny.
Jim has a number of adventures when the crew arrives at the island. He sneaks ashore alone and meets Ben Gunn, a member of Flint's crew who was marooned on the island years ago. Initially, Captain Smollett and his loyal men are in a position of power at the island's stockade, a small wooden fort. The pirates eventually take over the stockade, however. In the end, the pirates are marooned on the island while Jim gets to return home with his share of the treasure. As for Long John Silver, he takes a portion of the treasure and escapes, never to be seen again.