Copy Book Archive

Treasure Island An excited English gentleman hires a ship for a treasure-hunt, but doesn’t check his crew’s credentials.

In two parts

1833
Music: Sir Charles Hubert Parry

© John Sievert, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0. Source

About this picture …

Dead Chest island in the British Virgin Islands. Stevenson said the name inspired his pirates’ song, “Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest”.

Treasure Island

Part 1 of 2

When a treasure-map falls into his excited hands, Squire Trelawny can’t wait to go treasure-hunting on distant seas. So he hires a crew of experienced sailors, without asking what kind of ship they gained their experience on...

AFTER the landlord of the Admiral Benbow inn died, times were hard for his widow and his son Jim.

Otherwise, they would not have put up with their solitary resident, a rough, foul-mouthed seaman calling himself ‘Captain Billy Bones’.

One night, the Captain died suddenly - apparently of fear, brought on by the visit of a sinister blind sailor - and in going through the dead man’s possessions, Jim discovered a handwritten map.

It must have been important, for that night, the blind man returned with two companions and ransacked the inn.

Jim guessed what they were looking for, and showed his map to Doctor Livesey and Squire Trelawny. They were agreed: it was a treasure-map, directions to a vast hoard of gold and gems.

Dreaming of exotic lands and treasure-chests, the Squire quickly found a ship, the Hispaniola, and assembled a crew. A little too quickly, as it proved.

Jump to Part 2

Précis

Young Jim Hawkins stumbled across a map showing where a hoard of pirate treasure was buried on a distant island. He showed it to the Squire, who at once chartered a ship, but an audacious attempt to steal the map, and an increasingly unruly crew, showed that Jim and his friends had competition. (53 / 60 words)

Part Two

© Ben Salter, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0. Source

About this picture …

The ‘Grand Turk’, a modern replica of HMS Blandford (1741), off Penarth, Wales.

JIM found a particular friend on that voyage in the cook, a one-legged seaman named ‘Long’ John Silver.

As they neared the island, however, the crew became restless, and to his horror Jim overheard Silver plotting mutiny among old friends – pirate friends.

Armed with the map, the Squire, the doctor, and the ship’s captain made for the island, and the pirates, led by ‘Captain’ Silver, followed hard on their heels.

But Jim went alone, and met a most eccentric man on the island, Ben Gunn, all rags and sad babble about being ‘rich’.

In the end, however, Jim was captured, and the ransom price was the chart.

Silver led his men to the place marked with a cross, and stood aghast. The treasure was gone. The dispirited pirates were easily overpowered, and returned on the Hispaniola to London to face justice.

And suddenly Jim realised why ragged, rambling Ben Gunn had said he was rich.

the end

Copy Book

Précis

On reaching the island, the crew mutinied, and the race was on to find the treasure. The pirates captured Jim and ransomed him for the map showing where the treasure lay, but the treasure was gone. It was not lost, however; for Jim had befriended a poor marooned sailor, Ben Gunn, who knew exactly where to find it. (58 / 60 words)

Suggested Music

1 2

Symphony No 3 in C-major ‘English’ (1889)

2: Andante sostenuto

Sir Charles Hubert Parry (1848-1914)

Performed by the London Philharmonic, conducted by Matthias Bamert.

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Symphony No 3 in C-major ‘English’ (1889)

1: Allegro energico

Sir Charles Hubert Parry (1848-1914)

Performed by the London Philharmonic, conducted by Matthias Bamert.

Media not showing? Let me know!

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