The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition, Vol. 06

In Short

This volume gathers three distinct works of fiction exploring fortune, morality, and self-delusion. It opens with the complete, classic tale of young Jim Hawkins, who stumbles upon a pirate treasure map and sails into a deadly conflict with the magnetic scoundrel Long John Silver. Following this adventure are two quieter, philosophical character studies: a story of a mountain recluse who rejects the wider world to preserve his peace, and a comic novella about an eccentric French doctor whose grand theories are constantly undone by reality. The volume endures for its immortal adventure narrative and its sharp psychological insight.

The Story

The volume begins in an isolated English inn, where an old pirate dies, leaving behind a key to a locked sea chest. Inside, Jim Hawkins finds a map showing the secret location of Captain Flint’s buried fortune. Jim brings the map to Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey, who promptly outfit a schooner, the Hispaniola, to retrieve the gold. Unwittingly, the squire hires a crew made up largely of Flint’s former buccaneers, led by the one-legged ship's cook, Long John Silver.

During the voyage, Jim overhears Silver planning a bloody mutiny. Upon reaching the island, the crew splits, and the honest men abandon ship to take shelter in an abandoned wooden stockade on shore. A grueling battle ensues as Silver demands the chart, but the loyal defenders hold their ground. Jim slips away on his own, discovers a marooned former pirate named Ben Gunn, and secretly borrows Gunn’s handmade skin boat. In a daring solo sea adventure, Jim cuts the schooner’s anchor cable, boards the drifting vessel, overpowers the treacherous coxswain Israel Hands, and strands the ship safely on a beach.

Returning to the stockade, Jim accidentally walks into the enemy camp. Silver has taken over the loghouse, but his mutinous crew is on the verge of deposing him. Armed with the map—which Dr. Livesey surprisingly surrendered to him—Silver protects Jim as a valuable hostage. The pirates march inland to exhume the chest, terrified by eerie echoes in the woods that mimic their dead captain’s voice. When they finally reach the site, they find the cache already emptied by Ben Gunn. Livesey and his allies ambush the defeated mutineers, rescue Jim and Silver, and load the vast treasure onto the schooner. Silver escapes at a port of call with a small bag of coins, leaving the rest to sail home rich.

The focus then shifts to short fiction. A boy raised at a secluded mountain inn gazes down at the plain, filled with a burning desire to see the distant cities. As he grows into manhood, he deliberately chooses never to leave his valley, convincing himself that action and romance are mere illusions. He lets his love affair fade into a polite, distant friendship, living out his days in static tranquility until death comes for him.

Finally, an eccentric French physician adopts a homeless boy named Jean-Marie and sets out to educate him according to his own lofty, verbose philosophy. When the doctor unexpectedly unearths a forgotten treasure of ancient gold coins, his disciplined worldview evaporates in dreams of luxury. The gold promptly vanishes, sending the household into financial ruin. Ultimately, it is revealed that the young boy stole and buried the treasure to save his master from his own foolish vices, restoring it only when the doctor has been humbled.

How It Unfolds

The sea chest opened A terrifying blind beggar delivers a fatal ultimatum to an old buccaneer hiding at a coastal inn. Jim Hawkins and his mother search the dead man's trunk, escaping with a sealed paper roll just before pirates sack the building.

The voyage chartered Squire Trelawney outfits a vessel in Bristol and unwittingly fills the crew with old buccaneers. Jim boards the ship as cabin boy, fascinated by the charming, one-legged cook who keeps a parrot in the galley.

The mutiny exposed Hiding in an apple barrel, Jim overhears the cook plotting to slaughter the officers once the island is reached. The landing party splits, and the honest crewmen abandon the ship to occupy a wooden fort on shore.

The duel of wits Silver approaches the stockade under a flag of truce, smoking a pipe with Captain Smollett while offering terms for the map. When Smollett refuses, the pirates launch a fierce assault on the palisade.

The midnight cruise Jim sneaks away in a tiny homemade coracle to cut the schooner's mooring ropes. He drifts through treacherous surf, climbs aboard the runaway ship, and kills the treacherous coxswain in self-defense high in the rigging.

The ghostly pointer Captured by the mutineers, Jim is saved from execution by Silver, who faces down his own rebellious men. The pirates search for the gold, terrified by a distant voice shouting a dead captain's last words.

The mountain retreat A young innkeeper spends his life gazing down at the bustling plain from his mountain pass. He convinces himself that travel and marriage are foolish distractions, choosing quiet contemplation over the hazards of living.

The philosopher's lesson A pompous French doctor adopts a street urchin to demonstrate his theories of natural education. When a sudden windfall of treasure threatens to ruin his moral character, the boy secretly intervenes to save his master.

The People

• Jim Hawkins: A brave, impulsive youth who matures rapidly through sheer survival. He wants to protect his friends and find the gold, but his reckless choices—such as leaving the fort on private errands—repeatedly alter the course of the expedition. He ends the journey wiser and haunted by the horrors of the island.
• Long John Silver: A formidable, highly intelligent pirate who moves between calculated charm and ruthless brutality. He wants the treasure and his own freedom above all else. Adapting to whichever side holds the advantage, he abandons his mutinous crew when the tide turns and vanishes into the night.
• Doctor Livesey: A cool-headed physician and magistrate who maintains absolute discipline under fire. He wants to safeguard his companions and enforce the law, using his medical skill to treat wounded friends and enemy mutineers alike.
• Will: A reflective innkeeper who longs for the world as a boy, but chooses absolute solitude as an adult. Driven by a fear of disappointment, he refuses to marry or travel, ultimately dying in the peaceful isolation he carefully constructed.
• Doctor Desprez: A verbose, self-styled philosopher who believes himself immune to materialistic temptation. He wants to live an enlightened life, but his noble theories collapse the moment real wealth falls into his hands, forcing him to learn wisdom from his adopted son.
• Jean-Marie: A quiet, observant orphan adopted by Desprez. He loves his master but sees through his pomposity, acting with silent, decisive morality to save the doctor from moral ruin.

In Its Own Voice

"He was no common man, Barbecue... He had good schooling in his young days, and can speak like a book when so minded; and brave--a lion's nothing alongside of Long John!"

The coxswain describes the formidable charisma and hidden history of the ship's one-legged cook as Jim listens aboard the Hispaniola.

"Shipmates," he cried, "I'm here to get that stuff, and I'll not be beat by man nor devil. I never was feared of Flint in his life, and, by the powers! I'll face him dead."

Silver tries to rally his terrified, superstitious crew in the island forest when a mysterious voice echoes among the trees.

"He has spoiled the quiet of my morning," thought he. "I shall be nervous all day, and have a febricule when I digest. Let me compose myself."

Doctor Desprez attempts to regain his serene, philosophical composure after his newly adopted stable-boy bluntly criticizes his singing voice.

What It's Really About

At its core, this volume examines the fragility of human morality when confronted with sudden wealth and physical danger. The stories interrogate the line between respectable society and criminal rogue, showing that greed affects gentlemen and pirates alike. Silver’s ruthless adaptability mirrors the respectable figures who are just as eager to abandon their everyday lives for a fortune. Beyond the high-seas adventure, the shorter tales explore self-deception and the choices people make to protect themselves from life's unpredictable currents. Whether through Will’s withdrawal into total passive retreat or Doctor Desprez’s shield of grandiose rhetoric, the collection asks how a person can maintain integrity in a world governed by appetite, chance, and change.

Why Read It Today

This collection offers an exceptional showcase of storytelling range, balancing iconic, fast-paced action with witty, lingering character studies. The primary draw is the complete pirate narrative, which set the standard for modern adventure fiction. Its prose is remarkably crisp, packed with vivid sensory detail, unforgettable dialogue, and a masterclass in tension. Readers looking for thrilling sea battles will find them here, but so will those who appreciate quiet irony and psychological depth.

The volume does present a few hurdles for modern readers. The sea-going jargon and period buccaneer dialect can occasionally slow the pace, requiring a moment to decode the slang and nautical commands. Furthermore, the casual violence of the mutineers and the rigid nineteenth-century class distinctions reflect their era clearly. Yet these friction points are minor compared to the sheer energy of the writing. The characters linger long after the final chapter: a sinister footstep on a wooden floorboards, a parrot screaming for gold, and the quiet realization that the worst monsters are often the ones who speak most pleasantly.