He began his writing career as an essayist and travel writer, but the success of Treasure Island (1883) and Kidnapped (1886) established his reputation for tales of adventure and action. By thunder! Don't be as craven as a weevil in a biscuit: listen to Jasper Britton's reading of Treasure Island. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was born in Edinburgh. Stevenson does not romanticize his 'gentlemen of fortune' pirates: they are wasteful, fickle, ignorant, violent, superstitious, and treacherous, and hence very human.

Robert Louis Stevenson's novel is a true boys' adventure classic, filled with vivid and concise descriptions, exotic settings, suspenseful action, perfect surprises, savory conversation, spicy humor, and a philosophical depth lacking in many stories of its genre. Britton is a wonderful reader! He reads the main narration by young Jim Hawkins with engaging youthful enthusiasm and the voices of the other characters with great variety, among them Billy Bones' paranoid alcoholic bullying, Doctor Livesey's educated and measured eloquence, Blind Pew's querulous menace and outrage, Squire Trelawney's good-natured aristocratic bluster, Long John Silver's roguish friendliness, shameless guile, and eruptions of murderous rage, Captain Smollett's honest fortitude and command, Ben Gunn's cracked craftiness, and Cap'n Flint's wicked parroting of 'Pieces of eight!' I felt as if the book were being read by a full cast, including one parrot who had seen too much of wickedness. Treasure Island is a coming-of-age story that will captivate both adults and children for as long as stories are told. I read Treasure Island as a kid and loved it and just finished listening to Jasper Britton reading it forty years later and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Treasure island books