Adventure · Pirates
Treasure Island
Reading level: we suggest CEFR B1–B2 for reading Treasure Island. Length: about 67,000 words.
- Suggested levelB1–B2
- Lengthabout 67,000 words
- Original languageEnglish
The story
Young Jim Hawkins helps his mother run an inn on the English coast until an old sea captain arrives with a sea-chest and a terror of a one-legged sailor. When the captain dies, Jim finds a map to Captain Flint's buried treasure.
A ship is hired, the Hispaniola, and a cheerful cook named Long John Silver joins the crew. But half the crew are pirates, and on the island the fight for the treasure begins.
Themes: courage, greed, loyalty and betrayal, growing up.
Why it's a good book for language learners
Stevenson wrote it for young readers, so the plot is clear and exciting, but the language is rich enough to stretch intermediate learners. Long John Silver's speech is a famous source of pirate English, and the sea vocabulary is endlessly useful.
How hard is the English in Treasure Island?
- Flesch Reading Ease81.6
- Flesch–Kincaid grade6.3
- Words per sentence17.7
Measured by PageWalker on the full English text of the book. Flesch Reading Ease runs from 0 to 100 (higher is easier; 60–70 is plain English) and the Flesch–Kincaid grade is a US school grade. These formulas only count sentence and word length, so they miss old-fashioned vocabulary, wordplay and style. That is why our CEFR level, which takes those into account, can be higher than the formula suggests.
What you'll practise
- Sea and ship vocabulary
- First-person narration in the past
- Pirate slang and informal speech
- Describing danger and suspense
Reading tip
Draw the island map as you read. Stevenson did — the story started with a map he drew for his stepson.
Did you know?
Many ideas we have about pirates — treasure maps marked with an X, parrots, one-legged captains — were popularised by this book.
Treasure Island: a part-by-part guide
Contains spoilers. Read one part of the book, then come back to check you followed it.
Chapters 1–6: The Old Buccaneer
Jim Hawkins lives with his parents at the Admiral Benbow inn by the sea. An old sailor called Billy Bones comes to stay. He drinks rum, sings sea songs and is afraid of a one-legged man. Strange visitors arrive: Black Dog, then a blind man called Pew, who gives Bones the black spot. Bones dies suddenly. Jim's father has also died. Jim and his mother open the sailor's sea-chest and escape just before the pirates attack the inn. Inside a packet, Dr Livesey and Squire Trelawney find a map of a treasure island.
Chapters 7–12: The Sea-cook
The squire buys a ship, the Hispaniola, in Bristol. He hires Captain Smollett and a crew. The cook is Long John Silver, a friendly man with one leg and a parrot called Captain Flint. Jim likes him very much. The captain does not trust the crew and is worried about mutiny. Near the island, Jim hides in an apple barrel. He hears Silver talking with other men. Silver was a pirate with Captain Flint, and he plans to take the treasure and kill the honest men. Jim tells his friends.
Chapters 13–15: My Shore Adventure
The ship anchors near the island. The crew are angry and close to mutiny, so the captain lets many of them go ashore. Jim jumps into one of the boats without permission. On land he runs away from the pirates. Hidden in the trees, he sees Silver kill Tom, an honest sailor who will not join him. Jim runs in fear. Then he meets a strange wild man dressed in goatskins. He is Ben Gunn, a former pirate who was left alone on the island three years ago.
Chapters 16–21: The Stockade
Dr Livesey tells this part of the story. The loyal men leave the ship in a small boat and go to an old wooden fort, the stockade. The pirates shoot at them, and the squire's servant Tom Redruth is killed. Jim finds his friends and joins them in the stockade. Silver comes with a white flag and asks for the treasure map, but Captain Smollett refuses. The pirates attack the stockade. There is hard fighting. Several men die, the captain is wounded, but the pirates are pushed back.
Chapters 22–27: My Sea Adventure
Jim leaves the stockade alone without telling anyone. He finds Ben Gunn's small homemade boat, a coracle. At night he cuts the rope that holds the Hispaniola, and the ship drifts away. The next day he climbs aboard. Only two pirates are there: one, O'Brien, is dead, and Israel Hands is wounded. Jim takes down the pirate flag. Hands helps him sail the ship into North Inlet, but then attacks Jim with a knife. Jim climbs the mast, Hands follows him, and Jim shoots him.
Chapters 28–34: Captain Silver
Jim returns to the stockade at night, but the pirates are there now. Silver protects Jim from the other pirates, who give Silver the black spot. Silver shows them the treasure map; the doctor gave it to him. The pirates go to find the treasure and take Jim with them. A skeleton points the way, and a strange voice scares them. When they reach the place, the treasure is gone. Ben Gunn moved it to his cave long ago. Jim's friends arrive and save him. They sail home with the gold, and Silver escapes.
Main characters
- Jim Hawkins: A brave boy from the Admiral Benbow inn who tells most of the story.
- Long John Silver: The ship's cook with one leg, a clever and charming man who is secretly the leader of the pirates.
- Dr Livesey: A calm and fair doctor who helps lead the honest men and tells part of the story.
- Squire Trelawney: A rich gentleman who buys the ship for the trip but talks too much about the treasure.
- Captain Smollett: The strict and honest captain of the Hispaniola who does not trust the crew from the start.
- Ben Gunn: A former pirate left alone on the island for three years who dreams of cheese.
- Billy Bones: An old pirate who stays at the inn with a sea-chest that holds the treasure map.
- Israel Hands: A dangerous pirate who stays on the ship and later tries to kill Jim.
Words to learn from Treasure Island
Each example sentence is copied from the book, so you will meet these words in exactly this form.
| Word | Meaning | In the book |
|---|---|---|
| cove | a small bay, where the sea comes into the land | “This is a handy cove,” says he at length; “and a pleasant sittyated grog-shop. |
| telescope | a tube with glass inside that makes far things look near | All day he hung round the cove or upon the cliffs with a brass telescope; |
| cutlass | a short sword with a curved blade, used by sailors | The captain had risen earlier than usual and set out down the beach, his cutlass swinging under the broad skirts of the old blue coat |
| doubloons | old Spanish gold coins | “Hang it, Pew, we’ve got the doubloons!” grumbled one. |
| squire | an old word for a rich man who owns land in the country | I had never seen the squire so near at hand. He was a tall man, over six feet high |
| anchor | a heavy metal object dropped into water to stop a ship moving | The ship is bought and fitted. She lies at anchor, ready for sea. |
| galley | the kitchen on a ship | always glad to see me in the galley, which he kept as clean as a new pin |
| mutiny | when sailors fight against their captain and take control of the ship | Mutiny, it was plain, hung over us like a thunder-cloud. |
| chart | a map used for sailing at sea | “I have a chart here,” says Captain Smollett. “See if that’s the place.” |
| marooned | left alone on purpose on an empty island as a punishment | “Marooned three years agone,” he continued, “and lived on goats since then, and berries, and oysters. |
| stockade | a small fort with a strong wall made of wooden posts | From the ship we could see nothing of the house or stockade, for they were quite buried among trees |
| coracle | a small, round, light boat, often made by hand | it was like the first and the worst coracle ever made by man. |
Famous lines
“Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest— Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!”
Mutiny, it was plain, hung over us like a thunder-cloud.
many’s the long night I’ve dreamed of cheese—toasted, mostly—and woke up again, and here I were.
“One more step, Mr. Hands,” said I, “and I’ll blow your brains out! Dead men don’t bite, you know,” I added with a chuckle.
Oxen and wain-ropes would not bring me back again to that accursed island
Questions for discussion
Good for a book club, a class, or writing practice: answer one question in five sentences.
- Long John Silver is kind to Jim but also kills honest men. Do you like him or fear him? Why?
- Jim often acts alone without asking anyone, for example when he takes the coracle. Is he brave or careless?
- The treasure brings death to many people. What do you think the book says about greed?
- Why do you think Silver protects Jim when the other pirates want to kill him?
- Ben Gunn lived alone for three years. How would you survive alone on an island?
- At the end, Jim never wants to go back to the island. How has the adventure changed him?
The PageWalker adventure
In the adventure you are Jim Hawkins, and one wrong choice puts you in Silver's hands. You can try the first page in your browser, and the adventure is available in 13 languages with click-to-translate.
Treasure Island in other languages
- EnglishTreasure Island
- العربيةجزيرة الكنز
- DeutschDie Schatzinsel
- EspañolLa Isla del Tesoro
- FrançaisL'Île au trésor
- हिन्दीखजाना द्वीप
- ItalianoL'isola del tesoro
- 日本語宝島
- 한국어보물섬
- PortuguêsA Ilha do Tesouro
- РусскийОстров сокровищ
- TürkçeDefine Adası
- 简体中文金银岛
Questions about Treasure Island
What reading level is Treasure Island?
We suggest CEFR B1–B2 for reading Treasure Island. Stevenson wrote it for young readers, so the plot is clear and exciting, but the language is rich enough to stretch intermediate learners. On readability formulas the English text scores a Flesch Reading Ease of 81.6 and a Flesch–Kincaid grade of 6.3, with an average of 17.7 words per sentence.
How long is Treasure Island?
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (1883) is about 67,000 words.
Can I play Treasure Island as an interactive adventure?
Yes. In the adventure you are Jim Hawkins, and one wrong choice puts you in Silver's hands. You can try the first page in your browser, in 13 languages.
Updated 16 October 2026
