Customer Reviews

The Wrecker

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Stevenson's fame as a writer for young readers remains secure; I should imagine that kids are still reading dumbed-down versions, at least, of Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Works such as "The Ebb-Tide" would be eye-openers for many adults whose acquaintance with RLS is limited to these books and, perhaps, the very fine topographical adventure tale, Kidnapped.

The Wrecker is inferior to these works, but surely remains a late Victorian novel that could give pleasure to many. I'm not much of a reader of mysteries, but I suppose the South Seas shipwreck mystery that eventually develops would entertain many fans. Fans of G. K. Chesterton will find in this book, as in things like RLS and Osbourne's Wrong Box, writing that GKC obviously imitates in his superlative The Man Who Was Thursday -- a vein of facetious adventure. However, the ethics in Wrecker are much inferior to Chesterton's.

Fans of old San Francisco really should look up this book. They will likely find some pages here to be delectable.