The Curse Of Treasure Island - Softcover

Bryan, Francis

3.44

142 ratings by Goodreads

9780451208798: The Curse Of Treasure Island

Softcover

ISBN 10: 045120879X ISBN 13: 9780451208798

Publisher: NAL Trade, 2003

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Never out of print since its first publication in book form in 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island is a thrilling narrative of pirates, hidden treasure, and peril on the high seas that is as popular with adults as with children. Here, at last, is a worthy sequel, written in the same spirit as Stevenson's brilliant original.

Now a sturdy young man of twenty-one, Jim Hawkins, the cabin boy who narrated Treasure Island, is content with his quiet life as landlord of the family inn. Nothing could induce him to return to the accursed island. But when a mysterious and beautiful stranger comes begging for his immediate assistance in locating the pirate Joseph Tait, Jim is powerless to resist. Last seen marooned on Treasure Island, Tait was the roughest pirate of the lot. What could a woman of Grace Richardson's elegance and refinement want with such a reprobate? The answer leads Jim back to the South Seas, to violence, mystery, and dangers he never dared imagine.

A brilliant re-creation of the high style and spellbinding suspense of the original, The Curse of Treasure Island is destined to become a classic in its own right.

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About the Author:

Francis Bryan is the pseudonym of a prominent British broadcast journalist.

From Publishers Weekly:

This sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's 1893 classic packs a great deal of adventure into a relatively small package. However, escapades and high melodrama are nearly all that's offered. Jim Hawkins, the cabin boy who narrated Treasure Island, is now 21; he helps to operate the Admiral Benbow Inn, where he regales travelers with tales of his seafaring adventures. Enter a beautiful young woman named Grace Richardson, who, traveling with her son, is being pursued by sinister types. She begs Jim to help her find the pirate Joseph Tait, last known to be marooned on Treasure Island. Hawkins initially demurs and offers her accommodation at the Admiral Benbow, but after a series of hair-raising events, he finds himself a fugitive and is soon on his way back to the island. Grace stubbornly refuses to provide any details about why she must find Tait, or who her pursuers are, and this is where the story falls apart. It is impossible to believe that everyone involved would set off on an expensive and dangerous voyage with so little to go on. At least a dozen men die, which probably could have been avoided had Richardson explained herself. Long John Silver and his famous parrot make an appearance, and Bryan offers plenty of swordplay and spilled blood. A key problem is that the too-good-to-be-true Hawkins narrates, so no matter how perilous his situation, we know he survives. Stick with the original.

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