The Annotated Treasure Island - Tapa dura

The classic tale of pirates and their buried loot is enriched with explanatory footnotes, diagrams and illustrations in this fascinating annotated edition. First published in 1883, Stevenson s Treasure Island narrates the adventures of Jim Hawkins, an English teenager who in the 1750s discovers a map to a fabulous pirate treasure buried on a desert island; the ensuing voyage embroils him in a mutiny, fierce musket-and-cutlass fights and a twisty relationship with the pirate Long John Silver, a charismatic figure of noble courage and dastardly treachery. Featuring taut suspense, brisk action, an iconic coming-of-age theme and colorful characters, Treasure Island became the template for later genre pieces such as Pirates of the Caribbean. Barker-Benfield s engaging introduction and comprehensive margin notes and sidebars explain many of the story s details to an audience less familiar with age-of-sail conventions. Much of the narrative hinges on the handling of sailing ships, and he provides detailed, interesting accounts of their construction, rigging, navigation, protocols and jargon, which help explicate important plot points. He also delves into the evolving culture of the early-modern Atlantic-Caribbean region and the history, lifestyles and indispensable accouterments of pirates: Silver s loquacious parrot is probably an African gray, we learn, while the refrain yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum prompts a disquisition on that beverage s production and neurological effects. Intriguing conundrums and inconsistencies in the text are teased out; latitude and longitude figures put Treasure Island at one of four improbably cold locales, the author notes, while Silver s life history makes his claimed age of 50 years a tad optimistic. Throughout, Barker-Benfield s notes adroitly translate the richer flights of buccaneer lingo into respectable English. ( I m a poor old hulk on a lee shore is a pirate s dramatic way of saying he is nearing the end of his life. ) There are also detailed maps of the Caribbean, reproductions of portraits of real-life pirates and sea captains and meticulously detailed diagrams of ships, cannons and nautical equipment; these, along with Rhead s atmospheric drawings of scenes from the story, add an exquisite visual dimension to the original text. A sumptuous edition of a masterpiece that will captivate both youngsters and older fans interested in the history and lore underpinning Stevenson s yarn.--Kirkus Reviews"

First published as a serialized children s story in 1881 1882, Robert Louis Stevenson s Treasure Island has become an enduring classic. It has all the elements of a great adventure story: a plot full of twists and turns, an escalating sense of treachery and impending disaster, and a quintessential villain. Teenager Jim Hawkins finds a map titled Treasure Island in the belongings of a stricken lodger at the Admiral Benbow Inn in 1750s England. He soon finds himself aboard the schooner Hispaniola with a crew of disguised pirates headed to the Caribbean on a quest to find buried treasure. Long John Silver, the peg-legged cook, is the leader of this wretched crew. He is both engaging and ruthless, feared by even his barbarous accomplices, and a shape-shifter, pretending to be Jim s good friend and enemy, secretly plotting a mutiny. When mutiny begins, Jim must save the day. This beloved adventure story is pure fiction but fiction well grounded in historical and geographical reality. In The Annotated Treasure Island, editor and researcher Simon Barker-Benfield meticulously and lovingly annotates this voyage, offering crucial factual information, a sociopolitical context, and clear technical explanations that bring you closer to the action. Lavishly illustrated with pictures of nautical equipment, parts of ships, and period maps, The Annotated Treasure Island brings the seafaring vernacular to life. You ll learn about blocks, backstays, and shrouds. And you ll see Jim and the crew handle the Hispaniola, whether it s the simple chore of raising the anchor which in a similar, real vessel could require three hours -worth of hauling in a very slimy cable six inches at a time or the difficulty and meaning of warping and putting a man in the chains in order to take depth soundings. The story illustrations by Louis Rhead (1857-1926) deftly draw out the escalating dramatic tension. Would all the risk and hardship have been worth it? Just how much treasure was the crew after? What could one have bought with 700,000 pounds sterling in the 1700s? Even that question is answered in this newly annotated edition: it would have been enough to buy and outfit a fleet of eleven 104-gun battleships of the period. Seven hundred thousand pounds sterling was serious money, enough money that some men would do almost anything to get it."