Treasure Island and The Ebb-Tide
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- £1.99
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- £1.99
Publisher Description
'"One more step, Mr Hands," said I, "and I'll blow your brains out"'
In Treasure Island, a weathered old sailor known as Billy Bones arrives at the inn of young Jim Hawkins's parents - and it is the start of an adventure beyond anything he could have imagined. For when Bones dies mysteriously, Jim stumbles across a map of a mysterious island in his sea chest - where 'X' marks the spot of a stash of buried pirate gold. Setting sail with his friends on the ship Hispaniola to recover the treasure, Jim soon realizes that he's not the only one who knows about the hoard. Suddenly he is thrown into a world of treachery, mutiny, castaways and murder and, at the centre of it all, is the charming but sinister Long John Silver, who will stop at nothing to grab his share of the loot... The Ebb-Tide, a short novel published the year of Stevenson's death, is also a rollicking seafaring adventure, narrating the voyage of a stolen ship whilst exploring such themes as imperialism, violence, dishonesty, Christianity and corruption.
The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The classic pirate novel is even more fun to read accompanied by well-done pictures. By capturing the feel of another time and place, readers are easily transported into the long-ago seafaring adventure. The art also helps readers become more comfortable with the old-fashioned language and phrasing. The European-styled thin line art is welcoming and approachable. Although cartoony, there's enough detail to stand up to Stevenson's textual imagery. The story is full of all the elements expected: mysterious omens, frightening strangers, a treasure map, seafaring adventure, murderous mutiny, and a boy's first journey to becoming a man. With up to 14 panels per page, this graphic novel is dense but not crowded, although the pages open up to show the ship, with full-page panels conveying the vista of the open ocean. This is a substantial adaptation, given the number of panels, inclusion of the original text, and the length of the book, much longer than the usual classic comic adaptation. The handsome hardcover will stand up to multiple readings, making this a fine choice for libraries or children's gifts.
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