Long John Silver is the one-legged, silver-tongued ship's cook and secret leader of a mutinous crew of pirates in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, published in 1883. Hired for the voyage aboard the Hispaniola under the pretense of respectability, Silver is in fact the former quartermaster of the pirate Captain Flint and has organized much of the crew to seize the ship and its buried treasure map for himself, all while maintaining an outward charm and rapport with the young narrator, Jim Hawkins, that makes him one of literature's most morally ambiguous villains. Accompanied everywhere by his parrot, Captain Flint, and walking with a wooden crutch after losing a leg in earlier naval service, Silver survives the novel's violence through calculation and self-preservation rather than loyalty to any side, ultimately escaping with a portion of the treasure. Long John Silver became the definitive template for the popular image of the pirate in English-language fiction, including the accent, the parrot, the peg leg and the treasure map, that persisted in adaptations for more than a century afterward.
Facts
Narrative RoleSourced to the subject's own accountMain antagonist of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel Treasure Island, the most colourful and complex character in the book. 1 Defining TraitSourced to the subject's own accountHis missing leg and parrot have become defining, enduring contributions to the popular image of the pirate. 1 Narrative role (class)Sourced to the subject's own account Sources
1. Long John Silver (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, paragraph 1
His missing leg and parrot, in particular, have greatly contributed to the image of the pirate in popular culture.
Profile section, Stevenson letter to Henley
It was the sight of your maimed strength and masterfulness that begot Long John Silver...the idea of the maimed man, ruling and dreaded by the sound, was entirely taken from you
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
Was Long John Silver based on a real person?
Partly. Robert Louis Stevenson said his friend William Ernest Henley, who had lost a leg, was a major inspiration.
Robert Louis Stevenson said the character was in part inspired by his real-life friend William Henley, a writer and editor who had lost a leg to tuberculosis of the bone. In a letter to Henley after Treasure Island was published, Stevenson wrote that the sight of Henley's maimed strength and masterfulness begot Long John Silver, and that the idea of a maimed man ruling and dreaded by the sound was taken entirely from him.
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