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Treasure Island
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Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book in 1883, it was originally serialised in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881-82 under the title The Sea Cook, or Treasure Island.
Traditionally considered a coming of age story, it is an adventure tale known for its superb atmosphere, character and action, and also a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality—as seen in Long John Silver—unusual for children's literature then and now.
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Encyclopedia
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book in 1883, it was originally serialised in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881-82 under the title The Sea Cook, or Treasure Island.
Traditionally considered a coming of age story, it is an adventure tale known for its superb atmosphere, character and action, and also a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality—as seen in Long John Silver—unusual for children's literature then and now. It is one of the most frequently dramatised of all novels. The influence of Treasure Island on popular perception of pirates is vast, including treasure maps with an 'X', schooners, the Black Spot, tropical islands, and one-legged seamen with parrots on their shoulders.
History
Stevenson was 30 years old when he started to write Treasure Island, and it would be his first success as a novelist. The first fifteen chapters were written at Braemar in the Scottish Highlands in 1881. It was a cold and rainy late-summer and Stevenson was with five family members on holiday in a cottage. Young Lloyd Osbourne, Stevenson's stepson, passed the rainy days painting with watercolours. Remembering the time, Lloyd wrote:
Within three days of drawing the map for Lloyd, Stevenson had written the first three chapters, reading each aloud to his family who added suggestions. Lloyd insisted there be no women in the story which was largely held to with the exception of Jim Hawkins' mother at the beginning of the book. Stevenson's father took a child-like delight in the story and spent a day writing out the exact contents of Billy Bones's sea-chest, which Stevenson adopted word-for-word; and his father suggested the scene where Jim Hawkins hides in the apple barrel. Two weeks later a friend, Dr. Alexander Japp, brought the early chapters to the editor of Young Folks magazine who agreed to publish each chapter weekly. Stevenson wrote at the rate of a chapter a day for fifteen days straight, then ran dry of words. His health was a factor in this. He was near despondency, having never earned his keep by age thirty-one, and fearing he would not finish this book either. He turned to the proofs, corrected them, took morning walks alone, and read other novels.
As autumn came to Scotland, the Stevensons left their summer holiday retreat for London, and Stevenson was troubled with a life-long chronic bronchial condition. Concerned about a deadline they travelled in October to Davos, Switzerland where the break from work and clean mountain air did him wonders, and he was able to continue at the rate of a chapter a day and soon finished the storyline.
During its initial run in Young Folks from October 1881 to January 1882, Treasure Island failed to attract attention or even increase the sales of the magazine, but when sold as a book in 1883 it soon became very popular. Prime Minister Gladstone was reported to have stayed up until two in the morning to finish it. Critics widely praised it. American novelist Henry James praised it as "perfect as a well-played boy's game". Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote "I think Stevenson shows more genius in a page than Sir Walter Scott in a volume".
"The effect of Treasure Island on our perception of pirates cannot be overestimated. Stevenson linked pirates forever with maps, black schooners, tropical islands, and one-legged seamen with parrots on their shoulders. The treasure map with an X marking the location of the buried treasure is one of the most familiar pirate props", yet it is entirely a fictional invention which owes its origin to Stevenson's original map. The term "Treasure Island" has passed into the language as a common phrase, and is often used as a title for games, rides, places, etc.
Thanks to Stevenson's letters and essays, we know a great deal about his sources and inspirations. The initial catalyst was the island map, which was essentially the whole plot to him as author, he said. He mailed the map with his manuscript to the book publisher and was later told the map had been lost. He had no copy and was devastated. He had to construct another map tediously from scratch, making sure it matched the storyline this time. The new map lacked the charm of the first and was never really Treasure Island to Stevenson, though. He also drew from memories of works by Daniel Defoe, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Gold-Bug", and Washington Irving's "Wolfert Webber", of which Stevenson said, "It is my debt to Washington Irving that exercises my conscience, and justly so, for I believe plagiarism was rarely carried farther.. the whole inner spirit and a good deal of the material detail of my first chapters.. were the property of Washington Irving." Stevenson says the novel At Last by Charles Kingsley was also a key inspiration. The idea for the character of Long John Silver was inspired by his real-life friend William Henley, a writer and editor, who had lost his lower leg to tuberculosis of the bone. Lloyd Osbourne described him as "..a great, glowing, massive-shouldered fellow with a big red beard and a crutch; jovial, astoundingly clever, and with a laugh that rolled like music; he had an unimaginable fire and vitality; he swept one off one's feet". In a letter to Henley after the publication of Treasure Island, Stevenson wrote "I will now make a confession. It was the sight of your maimed strength and masterfulness that begot Long John Silver...the idea of the maimed man [ed. Henley was crippled], ruling and dreaded by the sound [ed. voice alone], was entirely taken from you". Other books that resemble Treasure Island include Robert Michael Ballantyne's Coral Island (1871) and Captain Marryat's The Pirate (1836). H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines (1885), the first of the "Lost World" literary genre, was the product of a bet between Rider Haggard and his brother that he could write a better novel than Treasure Island.
Stevenson had never encountered any real pirates in his life: the "Golden Age of Piracy" had ended more than a century before he was born. However, his descriptions of sailing and seamen and sea life are very convincing. His father and grandfather were both lighthouse engineers and frequently voyaged around Scotland inspecting lighthouses, taking the young Robert along. Two years before writing Treasure Island he had crossed the Atlantic Ocean. So authentic were his descriptions that in 1890 William Butler Yeats told Stevenson that Treasure Island was the only book from which his seafaring grandfather had ever taken any pleasure.
Critically, the novel can be seen as a bildungsroman, dealing, as it does, with the development and coming-of-age of its narrator, Jim Hawkins.
Stevenson was paid 34 pounds seven shillings and sixpence for the serialization and 100 pounds for the book.
Plot summary
Captain Flint backstory
Treasure Island contains numerous references to fictional past events, gradually revealed throughout the story and yielding a backstory that sheds light upon the events of the main plot.
The bulk of this backstory concerns the pirate Captain J. Flint, "the bloodthirstiest buccaneer that ever lived", who never appears, being dead before the main story opens. Flint was captain of the Walrus, with a long career (possibly as much as 25 years), operating chiefly in the West Indies and the coasts of the southern American colonies. His crew included the following characters who also appear in the main story: Flint's first mate, William (Billy) Bones; his quartermaster John Silver; his gunner Israel Hands; and among his other sailors: George Merry, Tom Morgan, John Pew, "Black Dog" and Allardyce (who becomes Flint's "pointer" toward the treasure). Many other former members of Flint's crew were on the cruise of the Hispaniola, though it is not always possible to identify which were Flint's men and which later agreed to join the mutiny — such as the boatswain Job Anderson and a mutineer "John", killed at the rifled treasure cache.
Flint and his crew were successful, ruthless, feared ("the roughest crew afloat"), and rich, if they could keep their hands on the money they stole. The bulk of the treasure Flint made by his piracy—700,000 pounds' worth of gold, silver bars and a cache of armaments—was, however, buried on a remote Caribbean island. Flint brought the treasure ashore from the Walrus with six of his sailors, also building a stockade on the island for defence. When they had buried it, Flint returned to the Walrus alone—having murdered all of the other six. A map to the location of the treasure he kept to himself until his dying moments.
The whereabouts of Flint and his crew are obscure immediately thereafter, but they ended up in the town of Savannah, Province of Georgia. Flint was then ill, and his sickness was not helped by his immoderate consumption of rum. On his sickbed, he was remembered for singing the chantey "Fifteen Men" and ceaselessly calling for more rum, with his face turning blue. His last living words were "Darby M'Graw! Darby M'Graw!", and then, following some profanity, "Fetch aft the rum, Darby!". Just before he died, he passed on the treasure map to the mate of the Walrus, Billy Bones (or so Bones always maintained).
After Flint's death, the crew split up, most of them returning to England. They disposed of their shares of the unburied treasure diversely. John Silver held on to 2,000 pounds, putting it away safe in banks-and became a waterfront tavern keeper in Bristol, England. Pew spent 1,200 pounds in a single year and for the next two years afterwards begged and starved. Ben Gunn returned to the treasure island to try to find the treasure without the map, and as efforts to find it immediately failed, his crew mates marooned him on the island and left. Bones, knowing himself to be a marked man for his possession of the map (as soon as the other members of Flint's crew should desire to recover the treasure), looked for refuge in a remote part of England. His travels took him to the rural West Country seaside village of Black Hill Cove and the inn of the 'Admiral Benbow'.
Main Characters
(1911 edition)]]
- Jim Hawkins: the young man who finds the treasure map, he is the protagonist and chief narrator. His parents are the owners of 'The Admiral Benbow Inn'.
- Billy Bones: Ex-mate of Captain Flint's ship and possessor of the map of Treasure Island. Dies of a stroke brought on by a combination of alcoholism and fear when 'tipped' the Black Spot.
- Squire John Trelawney: a skilled marksman, he is naïve and hires the crew almost entirely on Long John Silver's advice. He has some sea going experience and sometimes stands watch in calm weather.
- Dr. Livesey: a doctor, magistrate, former soldier (having served under the Duke of Cumberland) and friend of Trelawney who goes on the journey and for a short while narrates the story.
- Captain Alexander Smollett: the stubborn captain of the Hispaniola
- Long John Silver: Formerly Flint's quartermaster, later leader of the Hispaniolas mutineers. Engaged as the ship's cook, and at one time was the quartermaster on Flint's ship. Seemingly respectable in the beginning, he is landlord of 'The Spyglass' public house. Throughout the novel it's made clear that Silver is a remarkably charming man, whom even his enemies can't quite dislike. It's also clear that he's a textbook psychopath: intelligent, ruthless, manipulative, and without a conscience.
- Israel Hands: ship's coxswain and Flint's ex-gunner; tries to kill Jim Hawkins and ends up in Davy Jones' Locker. The character may have been named for the real-life pirate Israel Hands.
- Tom Morgan: an ex-pirate from Flint's old crew; ends up being marooned on the Island
- Job Anderson: ship's boatswain and one of the leaders of the mutiny who is killed while trying to storm the blockhouse; possibly one of Flint's old pirate hands
- Ben Gunn: an half-insane and marooned ex-pirate, who becomes a lodge keeper after losing his share of the treasure; speaks in a "rusty voice' and craves toasted cheese.
- Blind Pew: a blind ex-pirate, now beggar and killer, who dies when he is trampled by horses. With Pew and Long John Silver, Stevenson sought to avoid predictability by making the two most dangerous characters in Treasure Island a blind man and a crippled amputee. Stevenson also introduced a dangerous blind man in Kidnapped.
- Captain Flint: a feared pirate captain who dies in Savannah; also Long John's parrot's name.
Allusions and references
Actual geography
There are a number of islands which could be the real-life inspiration for Treasure Island. One story goes that a mariner uncle had told the young Stevenson tales of his travels to Norman Island in the British Virgin Islands, thus this could mean Norman Island was an indirect inspiration for the book. Nearby Norman Island is a Dead Man's Chest Island, which Stevenson found in a book by Charles Kingsley.
Stevenson said "Treasure Island came out of Kingsley's (1871); where I got the 'Dead Man's Chest' - that was the seed". If it was "the seed" for Skeleton Island, the phrase "dead man's chest", the novel in general, or all, remains unclear. Other contenders are the small islands in Queen Street Gardens in Edinburgh, as "Robert Louis Stevenson lived in Heriot Row and it is thought that the wee pond he could see from his bedroom window in Queen Street Gardens provided the inspiration for Treasure Island".
There are a number of Inns which claim to have been the inspiration for places in the book. The Admiral Benbow pub is supposed to be based on the Llandoger Trow in Bristol, although it cannot be proven. The Pirate's House in Savannah, Georgia is where Captain Flint is supposed to have spent his last days, and his ghost is claimed to haunt the property.
In 1883 Stevenson had also published The Silverado Squatters, a travel narrative of his honeymoon in 1880 in Napa Valley, California. His experiences at Silverado were kept in a journal called "Silverado Sketches", and many of his notes of the scenery around him in Napa Valley provided much of the descriptive detail for Treasure Island.
In May 1888 Stevenson spent about a month in Brielle, New Jersey along the Manasquan River. On the river is a small wooded island, then commonly known as "Osborn Island". One day Stevenson visited the island and was so impressed he whimsically re-christened it "Treasure Island" and carved his initials into a bulkhead. This took place five years after he had completed the novel. To this day, many still refer to the island as such. It is now officially named Nienstedt Island, honoring the family who donated it to the borough.
The map of the island bears a close resemblance to that of the island of Unst in Shetland. It is thought that Stevenson may have drawn the map as a child when visiting his uncle David and father Thomas Stevenson who were building the lighthouse at Muckle Flugga, off Unst.
Actual history
- A pirate whistles "Lillibullero" (1689).
- The Admiral Benbow inn where Jim and his mother live is named after the real life Admiral John Benbow (1653–1702).
- Five real-life pirates mentioned are William Kidd (active 1696-1699),Blackbeard (1716–1718),Edward England (1717–1720), Howell Davis (1718–1719), and Bartholomew Roberts (1718–1722).
- The unusual name "Israel Hands" was taken from that of a real pirate in Blackbeard's crew, whom Blackbeard maimed (by shooting him in the knee) simply to assure that his crew remained in terror of him. Allegedly Hands was taken ashore to be treated for his injury and was not at Blackbeard's last fight (the incident is depicted in Tim Powers' novel 'On Stranger Tides'); this alone saved him from the gallows; supposedly he later became a beggar in England.
- Silver refers to a ship's surgeon from Roberts' crew who amputated his leg and was later hanged at Cape Corso Castle, a British fortification on the Gold Coast of Africa. The records of the trial of Roberts' men list one Peter Scudamore as the chief surgeon of Roberts' ship
Royal Fortune, who was found guilty of willingly serving with Roberts' pirates and various related criminal acts, as well as attempting to lead a rebellion to escape once he had been apprehended. He was, as Silver relates, hanged. Stevenson appears to refer to the "Viceroy of the Indies" as a ship sailing from Goa, India (then a Portuguese colony) which was taken by Edward England off Malabar, while John Silver was serving aboard England's ship the Cassandra. No such exploit of England's is known, nor any ship by the name of the Viceroy of the Indies. However, in April 1721 the captain of the Cassandra, John Taylor (originally England's second in command who had deposed him for being insufficiently ruthless), captured the ship Nostra Senhora de Cabo near Réunion island in the Indian Ocean. This Portuguese ship was returning from Goa to Lisbon with the Conde da Ericeira, the recently retired Viceroy of Portuguese India, aboard; as the Viceroy had much of his treasure with him, this capture produced one of the richest pirate hauls ever. This is likely the event that Stevenson referred to, though his (or Silver's) memory of the event seems to be slightly confused. The Cassandra is last heard of in 1723 at Portobelo, Panama, a place that also briefly figures in Treasure Island as "Portobello". The preceding two references are inconsistent, as the Cassandra (and presumably Silver) was in the Indian Ocean during the entire time that Scudamore was surgeon on board the Royal Fortune, in the Gulf of Guinea. Captain Flint, who may or may not have been fictional, died in the town of Savannah, founded in 1733. Doctor Livesey was at the Battle of Fontenoy (1745). Squire Trelawney and Long John Silver both mention "Admiral Hawke", i.e. Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke (1705 – 1781), promoted to Rear Admiral in 1747. The novel refers to Bow Street Runners (1749). A Joseph Livesey was a famous 19th-century temperance advocate, founder of the tee-total "Preston Pledge"—and thus perhaps one inspiration for Stevenson's character of the same name, who warns the drunkard Billy Bones that "the name of rum for you is death." An Edward Trelawney was Governor of Jamaica 1738-1752. One actual pirate who buried treasure on an island was William Kidd on Gardiners Island. The booty was recovered by authorities soon afterwards. The Swiss Walter Hurni believes he has proof that Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island himself, found the hidden Treasure of Lima on Upolu (today called Tafahi) around 1890. The inquiries of Hurni were published by the Swiss author Alex Capus in his Book Reisen im Licht der Sterne (2005).
Historical time frame
Stevenson deliberately leaves the exact date of the novel obscure, Hawkins writing that he takes up his pen "in the year of grace 17--." However, some of the action can be connected with dates, although it is unclear if Stevenson had an exact chronology in mind. The first date is 1745, as established both by Dr. Livesey's service at Fontenoy and a date appearing in Billy Bones's log. Admiral Hawke is a household name, implying a date later than 1747, when Hawke gained fame at the Battle of Cape Finisterre and was promoted to Admiral.
Another hint, though obscure, as to the date is provided by Squire Trelawney's letter from Bristol in Chapter VII, where he indicates his wish to acquire a sufficient number of sailors to deal with "natives, buccaneers, or the odious French". This expression suggests that Great Britain was, at that time, at war with France. Two wars between England and France took place within the potential time frame: the first was the War of the Austrian Succession from 1740 to 1748, and the second was the Seven Years' War from 1756 to 1763.
Stevenson's map of Treasure Island includes the annotations Treasure Island Aug 1 1750 J.F. and Given by above J.F. to Mr W. Bones Maste of ye Walrus Savannah this twenty July 1754 W B. The first of these two dates is likely the date at which Flint left his treasure at the island; the second, just prior to Flint's death. As Flint is reliably reported to have died at least three years before the events of the novel (the length of time that Ben Gunn was marooned), it cannot take place earlier than 1757 and still be consistent with the map. The events of Treasure Island would therefore seem to have taken place no earlier than 1757 and not later than 1763.
This range of dates, however, at variance with Long John Silver's account of himself, as given to Dick while Jim Hawkins listened in the apple barrel. Silver claims to be fifty years old, which would place his birth no earlier than 1707; and both Silver and Israel Hands, who had been in Flint's crew together, claim to have had experience on the sea (presumably as pirates) for thirty years prior to their arrival at Treasure Island, i.e. since about 1727. However, Silver claims to have sailed "First with England, then with Flint", which pushes the beginning of his career to some time before 1720, the date of Captain Edward England's death, implying a longer career at sea than thirty years. Silver also says that the surgeon who amputated his leg was hanged with Roberts' crew at Corso Castle: this would mean he has been disabled at least since 1722, at an age no greater than 15 -- an age incompatible with his holding as significant an office as quartermaster under Captain Flint, or with being a crewman under England who was senior enough, and served long enough, to have "laid by nine hundred [pounds] safe".
As noted under Actual history, some of the people and events Silver claims to have witnessed were on opposite sides of Africa at the same time, and Silver's assignments of names and places are not entirely accurate. Silver's stories, then, may be no more reliable than his claim to have lost his leg while serving under Admiral Hawke, and containing inconsistencies which his audience were too ignorant to notice. Silver must either be closer to sixty than fifty, or his stories of the pirates England and Roberts are fabrications, retellings of stories he had heard from other pirates, into which he has inserted himself — which would account for their inconsistencies.
In other works
- The fast food chain "Long John Silver's" was named after the main villain of the novel. It specializes in providing seafood.
- In the novel
Peter Pan (1911) by J. M. Barrie, it is said that Captain Hook is the only man the old Sea-Cook ever feared. Captain Flint and the Walrus are also referenced. Author A. D. Howden Smith wrote a prequel, Porto Bello Gold (1924), that tells the origin of the buried treasure, recasts many of Stevenson's pirates in their younger years, and gives the hidden treasure some Jacobite antecedents not mentioned in the original. Author H. A. Calahan wrote a sequel Back to Treasure Island in 1935. Calahan wrote an introduction in which he argued that Robert Lewis Stevenson wanted to write a continuation of the story. In the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome the Blackett's Uncle Jim has the nickname of Captain Flint. Author R. F. Delderfield wrote The Adventures of Ben Gunn (1956) which follows Ben Gunn from Parson's Son to Pirate and is narrated by Jim Hawkins in Gunn's words. Author Leonard Wibberley wrote a sequel, Flint's Island (1972). Alan Coren wrote an article in Punch, entitled A Life on the Rolling Mane, parodying Treasure Island to adapt it to the National Hairdressers' Association's campaign to stamp out "pirate barbers". Notable lines are Bald Pew's "Remember the days of the old clippers?" and Hawkins' memories of the "boom of the scurf". Author Denis Judd wrote a sequel, Return to Treasure Island (1978). German metal band Running Wild, who are known for their lyrics on piracy, wrote an 11 minute epic on the story on their 1992 album Pile of Skulls.Author Bjorn Larsson wrote a sequel, Long John Silver (1999). Spike Milligan wrote a parody of the novel, Treasure Island According to Spike Milligan (2000). Author Frank Delaney wrote a sequel, The Curse of Treasure Island (2001) using the pseudonym 'Francis Bryan'. Author Roger L Johnson wrote a sequel, Dead Man's Chest:The Sequel to Treasure Island (2001). Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Hector Barbossa names his pet monkey after Jack Sparrow, a captain he mutinied against. This may have been inspired by Silver naming his parrot Captain Flint. According to the screenwriters' commentary on the DVD of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, the captain killed by an East India Trading Company official early in the movie is Jim Hawkins' lost father. This is, however, contrary to the original book: Jim Hawkins' father died at the Admiral Benbow Inn, in the company of Jim and his mother, in chapter three. Dead Man's Chest also makes use of a "black spot." In LucasArts' The Curse of Monkey Island, the main character Guybrush Threepwood sings a commercial jingle about 'Silver's Long Johns' (they breathe!) in an attempt to be the fourth member of a barbershop quartet.Avi, author of The 'True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle,' wrote the foreword to the 2000 edition of Treasure Island from Alladin Classics. Author John Drake wrote a prequel, 'Flint & Silver' (2008) Long John Silver and Treasure Island make an appearance in the 1994 film, The Pagemaster. In Dutch author Reggie Naus' children's novel De schat van Inktvis Eiland ("The treasure of Squid Island") (2008), the main character's last name is Stevenson. Though the plot is unrelated to Stevenson's novel, the pirates in this book brush shoulders with characters from Treasure Island. Another character in the novel; the quartermaster Walter Gunn, is Ben Gunn's older brother. The song 'Fifteen men on the dead man's chest' features frequently in the book. The writer is a big fan of Stevenson's book and included these references in tribute.
Adaptations
Film and TV
There have been over 50 movie and TV versions made. Some of the notable ones include:
Film
Treasure Island - A silent version starring Shirley Mason. 1934 - Treasure Island - Starring Jackie Cooper and Wallace Beery. An MGM production, the first sound film version. 1937 - Treasure Island - A loose Soviet adaptation starring Osip Abdulov and Nikolai Cherkasov, with a score by Nikita Bogoslovsky. 1950 - Treasure Island - Starring Bobby Driscoll and Robert Newton. Notable for being Disney's first completely live action film. A sequel to this version was made in 1954, called Long John Silver. 1971 - Treasure Island - A Soviet (Lithuanian) film starring Boris Andreyev, with a score by Alexei Rybnikov. 1971 - Animal Treasure Island - An anime film directed by Hiroshi Ikeda and written by Takeshi Iijima and Hiroshi Ikeda with story consultation by famous animator Hayao Miyazaki. This version replaced several of the human characters with animal counterparts. 1972 - Treasure Island - Starring Orson Welles. 1985 - L'Île au trésor (film, 1985) :fr:L'Île au trésor (film, 1985) 1987 - L'isola del tesoro - Italian / German SF adaptation AKA Treasure Island in Outer Space starring Anthony Quinn as Long John Silver. 1988 - Treasure Island (1988 animated film) - A critically acclaimed Soviet animation film in one part. 1990 - Treasure Island - Starring Charlton Heston 1996 - Muppet Treasure Island 1999 - Treasure Island - Starring Kevin Zegers and Jack Palance. 2002 - Treasure Planet. A Disney animated version set in space, with Long John Silver as a cyborg. 2006 - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - A movie starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, and Orlando Bloom, with elements from the novel such as the 'dead man's chest', the '15 men' chanty, and the 'black spot'. 2006 - Pirates of Treasure Island - A direct-to-DVD film by The Asylum, which was released one month prior to Dead Man's Chest. 2007 - Die Schatzinsel. A loosely adapted version, in German, starring German and Austrian actors, of the original novel.
TV
The Adventures of Long John Silver, 26 episodes shot at Pagewood Studios, Sydney, Australia filmed in full colour and staring Robert Newton 1964 - Mr. Magoo's Treasure Island, a 2 part episode of the cartoon series The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo (1964) was based on the novel, with Mr. Magoo in the role of Long John Silver. 1966 - - German-French co-production for German television station ZDF. 1968 - Treasure Island - BBC series of nine 25 minute episodes starring Peter Vaughn. 1977 - Treasure Island - Starring Ashley Knight and Alfred Burke. 1978 - Treasure Island (Takarajima) - An Japanese animated series adapted from the novel. 1982 - Treasure Island - The best known Soviet adaptation of the book, in three parts, starring Oleg Borisov as John Silver 1990 - Treasure Island - Starring Christian Bale, Charlton Heston, Christopher Lee and Pete Postlethwaite. A made for TV film written, produced and directed by Heston's son, Fraser C. Heston. 1993 - The Legends of Treasure Island - An animated series loosely based on the novel, with the characters as animals. 1995 - In the Wishbone (TV series) episode "Salty Dog", Wishbone explores the story in a children's adapted version.
There are also a number of Return to Treasure Island sequels produced, including a 1986 Disney mini-series, a 1992 animation version, and a 1996 and 1998 TV version.
Theatre and radio
There have been over 24 major stage and radio adaptations made. The number of minor adaptations remains countless.
- Orson Welles broadcast a radio adaptation via Mercury Theatre on July 1938; half in England, half on the Island; omits "My Sea Adventure"; music by Bernard Herrmann; .
- In 1947, a production was mounted at the St. James's Theatre in London, starring Harry Welchman as Long John Silver and John Clark as Jim Hawkins.
- For a time, in London there was an annual production at the Mermaid Theatre, originally under the direction of Bernard Miles, who played Long John Silver, a part he also played in a television version. Comedian Spike Milligan would often play Ben Gunn in these productions.
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Pieces of Eight, a musical adaptation by Jule Styne, premiered in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1985.
Music
- The Ben Gunn Society album released in 2003 presents the story centered around the character of Ben Gunn, based primarily on Chapter XV "Man of the Island" and other relevant parts of the book.
Footnotes
External links
Editions
- , scanned and illustrated books at Internet Archive. Notable editions include:
- , 1911 Scribner's, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth. See also (better quality scan, some images missing).
- , 1915 Harpers, illustrated by Louis Rhead.
- , 1912 Scribner's "Biographical Edition", includes essays by Mr and Mrs Stevenson.
- , 1911 Ginn and Company, lengthy introduction and notes by Frank Wilson Cheney Hersey (Harvard University).
- , HTML version, includes illustrations by N. C. Wyeth
- , with an Introduction and notes by Franklin T Baker (Columbia University, 1909). Fully annotated online.
- , audiobook from Librivox
- , free, single reader audiobook.
Resources
- , 450+ books collected and donated by Lionel Johnson to the University of Minnesota Children's Literature Research Collections.
- from
- A summary of from
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