Treasure Island

By: Robert Louis Stevenson

Narrated by: Timothy West

First conceived during a rainy summer holiday in the Highlands of Scotland in an attempt to amuse his stepson, Treasure Island began with the map. Young Lloyd Osbourne had drawn a crude version of an island, and Stevenson, looking over the boy's shoulder, began to elaborate, christening various curves and smudges the famed names of Skeleton Island and Spyglass Hill and finally adding the three red crosses marking the buried treasure.

From this gentlest of beginnings has come one of the fiercest and best-loved novels of piracy and fortune in the history of literature. It is Lloyd's lasting legacy that he insisted there be no girls in the story!

It tells the story of Jim Hawkins, who, having acquired a map to the vast treasure of the fabled Captain Flint, sets out with a sponsor, Squire Trelawney, who has been tricked into crewing up his ship with the remaining members of the notorious Flint's band of pirates.

Mutiny, maroonings and treasure follow, with the wonderful character of Long John Silver, not only providing a truly sophisticated analysis of the fact that morality is never simple but also forever fixing peg legs and parrots as the only uniform of the true bucaneer.

Initially sold to a boys' magazine called Young Folks, Treasure Island began Robert Louis Stevenson's phenomenal success as a novelist. The British Prime Minister W. E. Gladstone was reputed to have read until two in the morning in order to finish it. It has a similar grasp today, and we are firmly convinced that Tim West's Silver will be heard growling and chuckling long into the night.

Public Domain (P)2008 Silksoundbooks Limited

Brautifully Narrated

I listened to several excerpts from various readers before choosing this one. I love this book and wanted the characters to be energetically embodied by the reader - the almost joyful duplicity of the murderous rascal Silver, the kind reasonableness of the doctor, the bragging cluelessness of the squire. It's all here and wonderfully done.

Great story and performance.

Treasure Island is such a great book, and the performance by Mr. West is exceptional. Very well done. What's the audiobook equivalent of a page turner? By the powers, whatever it is, this is one of them! And you may lay to that.

Successfully used in the classroom

I used this in my classroom to supplement our reading of Treasure Island. Listening to this audio book helped my students gain a narrator's voice for their heads and helped them better understand difficult words and slang. It's very nicely done!

A great story all these years later

A wonderful story that continues to entertain and influence all these years after it was written. High seas adventure, pirates, treasure, all at a great pace, with no wasted chapters. The narration in this offering is GREAT...nice to listen to, enthusiastic, with nuances that help differentiate the characters and make it easy to follow. Recommend!

Great story and well presented

Really enjoyed this story
The reading was excellent.
The only dislike was it was that it ended too soon.