Description

Franklin Library leather edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island," a Limited edition, Illustrated by N.C. WYETH, one of the 100 GREATEST BOOKS OF ALL TIME series, published in 1975. Bound in a navy-blue leather, the book has scarlet red French moire silk end leaves, hubbed spine, Symth-sewn binding, acid-free paper, satin book marker, gold gilding on three edges--in near Fine condition. Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson, who lived from 1850---1894, was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. An old sailor, calling himself "the captain"—real name "Billy" Bones—comes to lodge at the Admiral Benbow Inn on the west English coast during the mid-1700s, paying Bob the innkeeper's son, Jim Hawkins, a few pennies to keep a lookout for a one-legged "seafaring man." A seaman with intact legs shows up, frightening Billy—who drinks far too much rum—and has another stroke and dies; Jim and his mother unlock the sea chest, finding some money, a journal, and a map. The local physician, Dr. Livesey, deduces that the map is of an island where a deceased pirate—Captain Flint—buried a vast treasure and the search is on! Jim becomes involve in the quest. Silver and some of the others go ashore, and two men who refuse to join the mutiny are killed. Exhausted, Jim falls asleep in the boat and wakes up the next morning, bobbing along on the west coast of the island, carried by a northerly current. Eventually, he encounters the ship, which seems deserted, but getting on board, he finds O'Brien dead and Hands badly wounded. As the ship is finally beached, Hands attempts to kill Jim but is himself killed in the attempt. Silver and the others argue about whether to kill Jim, and Silver talks them down. He tells Jim that, when everyone found the ship was gone, the captain's party agreed to a treaty whereby they gave up the stockade and the map. In the morning, the doctor arrives to treat the wounded and sick pirates and tells Silver to look out for trouble when they find the site of the treasure. After he leaves, Silver and the others set out with the map, taking Jim along as hostage. They encounter a skeleton, arms apparently oriented toward the treasure, which seriously unnerves the party. Eventually, they find the treasure cache—empty. Two of the pirates charge at Silver and Jim but are shot down by Livesey, Gray, and Gunn, from ambush. The other three run away, and Livesey explains that Gunn had already found the treasure and taken it to his cave. Silver steals a bag of money and escapes. The rest sail back to Bristol and divide up the treasure. Jim says there is more left on the island, but he for one will not undertake another voyage to recover it. 305 pages. I offer Combined shipping.