Treasure Island

By: Robert Louis Stevenson

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Young Jim Hawkins lives a quiet life as the son of an innkeeper. This all changes when an ancient sailor takes up lodging at the inn. Jim is both horrified and fascinated by the captain's bloody stories. When the old man dies without paying his bill, Jim must search the sailor's one possession, a large sea-chest, for payment. He unknowingly pockets an old map from the chest. But Jim is not the only one interested in the sea-chest and has to flee when a group of cut-throats appears to ransack the few possessions of the old sailor.

The family doctor recognizes the map as the key to a fortune. This commences a Caribbean treasure hunt, with the pirates only steps behind! Seventeen set sail, how many will return? This novel launched Stevenson on his long and fascinating writing career, and was the beginning of the pirate genre, with peg-legs, parrots, pieces-of-eight and the original Long John Silver.

© 2002 Tantor Media, Inc. Originally published 1883

Critic reviews

"With its dastardly plot and motley crew of rogues and villains, it seems unlikely that children will ever say no to this timeless classic." (Amazon.com)

A memorable adventure

I had not read this book since high school, some forty years ago. How many memories this audiobook brought back! The reader is a genius. Highly recommended.

Truly a pleasure to listen too.

The narrator really brought this classic to life. His changes in tone and speaking mannerisms truly has to be heard to be appreciated. I was engulfed once again in this classic tale of buccaneers. A must have!

Yo Ho! Ho! and a Bottle of Rum

This one was a pure delight. Stevenson's brilliantly woven narrative makes a gripping storyline. It was also fascinating to understand how much popular culture borrows from his work. It was definitely a classic worth the time.

Good reading

Great story that is really well read. Excellent!!

Great Adventure

I really enjoyed this audiobook. The story is fast-paced and the adventure holds up well. Fun for all ages.

The very best audio recording of a great story

Nearly all of our pirates, buried treasure, and recovery stories come from the characters and story of Treasure Island.. The story is tight, moves fast along, and the characters even have depth and some complexity. Don’t be put off by stereotyped modern movie takeoffs..this is the real thing... and this is the best narration!

great book

really enjoyed this book. Took me a little while to get used to the queen's English.

Excellent narration

The narrator had an excellent pace and diction. Easy to listen to and understand without falling asleep.

Good price, reasonable narration, poor conversion.

The biggest irritation of this audiobook is the fact that it was clearly harvested from a prior CD book. The phrase "This is the end of the CD. The program continues on the next CD." quickly becomes tiresome. When they merged the works, they could have easily dropped these lines.

The audio quality, at first, seems slightly better than marginal, but as the narrator progresses, these quips melt away. The story comes through and draws the listener in.

The work certainly would benefit from a fuller cast and better apparent sound quality, but the work succeeds at its current level.

The biggest plus is the price. This price allows the listener to enjoy the work despite its short-comings.

Overall, I'd recommend it while at the the same time acknowledging that I believe I would have enjoyed a more lively production. I still may.

Aye Matey, well done!

Who could not like "Treasure Island", Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins, the Admiral Benbow Inn? The quintessential pirate treasure tale, Stevenson's work is a better listen than read; I've found this true with much late 1800, early 1900 literature (like Huckleberry Finn). The reader does a great job. If your only experience has been printed, try a listen.