It’s a classic and rightly so. A tale of pirates, the high seas, and of course a treasure map created by the buccaneer Captain Flint. The many memorable characters include Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins, Ben Gunn, Billy Bones, and Blind Pew.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s original title for this book was ‘The Sea Cook’ as that was Long John Silver’s occupation. The book was written in Braemar and Davos in 1881 and first serialised in the magazine Young Folks between October 1881 and January 1882 before being published in book form in 1883.
Essentially what happens is that Billy Bones – a member of the crew of The Walrus, the ship of Captain Flint – stays at The Admiral Benbow inn run by Jim Hawkins’s parents. When some of Billy Bones’s ex-crewmates come visiting to find the treasure map he has in his sea chest, Jim finds the treasure map first and informs Dr Livesey and Squire Trelawney of this. They all proceed to Bristol, obtain a vessel called The Hispaniola, and set sail for Treasure Island. Of the crew who set out, only 5 return.
Julian Worker Fiction Writing 