Long John Silver is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...
and the main
antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist.
Etymology
The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, ri ...
in the
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...
''
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
'' (1883) by
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing leg and parrot, in particular, have greatly contributed to the image of
the pirate in popular culture.
Profile
Long John Silver is a cunning and opportunistic pirate who was
quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...
under the notorious
Captain Flint
Captain J. Flint is a fictional golden age pirate captain who features in a number of novels, television series, and films. The original character was created by the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894). Flint first appears in ...
.
Stevenson's portrayal of Silver has greatly influenced the modern iconography of the pirate.
Long John Silver has a
parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...
, named Captain Flint in honor—or mockery—of his former captain,
[Stevenson (1883), "The Voyage" ]h. 10
H is the eighth letter of the Latin alphabet.
H may also refer to:
Musical symbols
* H number, Harry Halbreich reference mechanism for music by Honegger and Martinů
* H, B (musical note)
* H, B major
People
* H. (noble) (died after 127 ...
pp. 80f. who generally perches on Silver's shoulder, and is known to chatter pirate or seafaring phrases like "Pieces of Eight", and "Stand by to go about." Silver uses the parrot as another means of gaining Jim's trust, by telling the boy all manner of exciting stories about the parrot's buccaneer history. 'Now that bird,' Silver would say, 'is, maybe, two hundred years old, Hawkins—they lives forever mostly, and if anybody's seen more wickedness it must be the devil himself. She's sailed with England—the great pirate
Cap'n England. She's been at Madagascar, and at Malabar, and Surinam, and Providence, and Portobello... She was at the boarding of the ''Viceroy of the Indies'' out of Goa, she was, and to look at her you would think she was a baby."
Silver claims to have served in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
and lost his leg under "the immortal
Hawke". "His left leg was cut off close by the hip, and under the left shoulder, he carried a crutch, which he managed with wonderful dexterity, hopping about upon it like a bird. He was very tall and strong, with a face as big as a ham—plain and pale, but intelligent and smiling."
He also claims to have been the only man whom Flint ever feared. Like many of Stevenson's characters, there is significant duality in the character; ostensibly Silver is a hardworking and likeable seaman, and it is only as the plot unfolds that his villainous nature is gradually revealed. His relationship with
Jim Hawkins, the novel's protagonist and narrator, belies that duality, as he serves as a mentor and eventually father-figure to Jim, creating much shock and emotion when it is discovered that he is in charge of the mutiny, and especially when Jim must confront and fight him later on.
Although treacherous and willing to change sides at any time to further his own interests, Silver has compensating virtues. He is wise enough to save his money, in contrast to the spendthrift ways of most of the pirates. He is physically courageous despite his disability: for instance, when Flint's cache is found to be empty, he coolly stands his ground against five murderous seamen despite having only Jim, a boy in his teens, to back him.
When Silver escapes at the end of the novel, he takes "three or four hundred
guineas
The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...
" of the treasure with him, thus becoming one of only two former members of Captain Flint's crew to get his hands on a portion of the recovered treasure. (The repentant maroonee
Ben Gunn is the other, but he spends all
£1,000 in nineteen days.) Jim's own ambivalence towards Silver is reflected in the last chapter, when he speculates that the old pirate must have settled down in comfortable retirement: "It is to be hoped so, I suppose, for his chances of comfort in another world are very small."
Silver is married to a woman of African descent, whom he trusts to manage his business affairs in his absence and to liquidate his Bristol assets when his actions make it impossible for him to go home. He confides in his fellow pirates that he and his wife plan to rendezvous after the voyage to Skeleton Island is complete and Flint's treasure is recovered, at which point Silver will retire to a life of luxury. Ironically his "share" of Flint's treasure (
£420) is considerably less than that of Ben Gunn (£1,000) and what Silver boasts was his share from England (£900) and from Flint (£2,000).
According to Stevenson's letters, the idea for the character of Long John Silver was inspired by his real-life friend
William Henley, a writer and editor. Stevenson's stepson, Lloyd Osbourne, described Henley as "...a great, glowing, massive-shouldered fellow with a big red beard and a crutch; jovial, astoundingly clever, and with a laugh that rolled like music; he had an unimaginable fire and vitality; he swept one off one's feet". In a letter to Henley after the publication of ''Treasure Island'', Stevenson wrote: "I will now make a confession. 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".
Adaptations and related works
Literature
* A prequel novel to ''Treasure Island'', titled ''Porto Bello Gold'', was published in 1924 by
Arthur D. Howden Smith
Arthur D. Howden Smith (; 1887–1945) was an American historian and novelist.Robert Sampson, ''Yesterday's Faces: Violent Lives'', Bowling Green State University, 1993, , pp. 177–78.
Life
Arthur Douglas Howden Smith was born in New York. In ...
.
* British historian Dennis Judd presents Silver as the main character in his 1977 prequel, ''The Adventures of Long John Silver'', and in the 1979 sequel, ''Return to Treasure Island''.
* John Silver is also the protagonist in
Björn Larsson's fictional 1995 autobiography, ''Long John Silver: The True and Eventful History of My Life of Liberty and Adventure as a Gentleman of Fortune and Enemy to Mankind'', published in Sweden in 1995.
* Silver is the main character in Edward Chupack's 2008 ''Silver — My Own Tale as Told by Me with a Goodly Amount of Murder''.
* Silver is a minor character in
Andrew Motion
Sir Andrew Motion (born 26 October 1952) is an English poet, novelist, and biographer, who was Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009. During the period of his laureateship, Motion founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and audio reco ...
's 2012 novel "
Silver: Return to Treasure Island", a sequel to the original book. Set many years after the end of the original, Silver is now half mad and blind, living in the company of his wife and daughter.
* In the
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
novel
Firestarter, the main protagonist's father Andy McGee receives a psychic warning that his daughter has been deceived by a lead antagonist, the scarred assassin Rainbird, in the form of a vision of Silver.
Audio-radio
*
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
played Silver in a July 18, 1938, broadcast of ''
The Mercury Theatre on the Air
''The Mercury Theatre on the Air'' is a radio series of live radio dramas created and hosted by Orson Welles. The weekly hour-long show presented classic literary works performed by Welles's celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with mus ...
''.
*
Basil Rathbone
Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...
starred as both The Narrator and Silver in a 1944 audio recording for
Columbia Masterworks Records
Columbia Masterworks was a record label started in 1924 by Columbia Records. In 1980, it was separated from the Columbia label and renamed CBS Masterworks. In 1990, it was revived as Sony Classical after its sale to the Sony Corporation.
History ...
.
*
William Redfield played Silver on the May 14, 1948 ''Your Playhouse of Favorites'' adaptation.
*
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Cinema of the United States, ...
hosted an adaptation of the novel on the April 27, 1948, broadcast of ''Favorite Story''.
*
James Mason
James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...
played Silver opposite
Bobby Driscoll
Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 – March 30, 1968) was an American actor known for his film and television performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period ...
's "Jim Hawkins" on the ''
Lux Radio Theatre
''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...
s adaptation on January 29, 1951.
*
James Kennedy played Silver in the ''
Tale Spinners for Children'' audio adaptation of ''Treasure Island'' (United Artists Records, UAC 11013).
* There have been two BBC Radio adaptations of ''Treasure Island'', with Silver being played by
Peter Jeffrey
Peter Jeffrey (18 April 1929 – 25 December 1999) was an English character actor. Starting his performing career on stage, he would later have many roles in television and film.
Early life
Jeffrey was born in Bristol, the son of Florence ...
in 1989, and
Jack Shepherd in 1995.
* The author
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...
performed an abridged reading of the novel in five parts as part of
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...
's ''Afternoon Reading''.
*
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. (1 ...
starred as Silver in
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include '' Doctor Who'', th ...
' 2012 audio adaptation.
Theatre
There have been several major stage adaptations made.
[Dury, Richard]
Stage and Radio adaptations of ''Treasure Island''
. The number of minor adaptations remains countless.
* For a time , in London, there was an annual production of the musical ''Treasure Island'', based on a
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ...
by
Bernard Miles
Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE (27 September 190714 June 1991) was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre that opened in the City of London since the 17th ce ...
and
Josephine Wilson
Josephine Wilson, Baroness Miles (5 July 1904 – 7 November 1990) was a British stage and film actress. She was the wife of Bernard Miles andHare p.195 creator of the Molecule Club, which staged scientific shows for children at the Mermaid The ...
. The music was composed by
Cyril Ornadel
Cyril Ornadel (2 December 192422 June 2011) was a British conductor, songwriter and composer, chiefly in musical theatre. He worked regularly with David Croft, the television writer, director and producer, as well as Norman Newell and Hal Sha ...
and the lyrics by
Hal Shaper
Hal Shaper (Born Harold David Shaper), 18 July 1931 - 8 January 2004) was a South African songwriter. After qualifying as a lawyer in 1955, he travelled to London to begin his five-decade-long musical career during which he worked with and wrote f ...
. The musical was performed at the
Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new th ...
, originally under the direction of Bernard Miles, who played Long John Silver, a part he also played in various television versions. Comedian
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...
would often play Ben Gunn in these productions, and in 1981,
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. (1 ...
played Long John Silver.
* ''
Pieces of Eight
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...
'', a musical adaptation by
Jule Styne
Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also becam ...
, premiered in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...
, Alberta, in 1985.
* ''Skatteøen'', a Danish language musical adaptation by singer-songwriter
Sebastian, premiered on
Folketeatret, Copenhagen
Folketeatret is a theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark. The theatre was founded in 1857, after an initiative from actor and theater director Hans Wilhelm Lange (1815-1873) who managed the theater until his death in 1873.
Folketeatret is now operat ...
in 1986.
* In 2011,
Tom Hewitt starred in
B. H. Barry B. H. Barry is an English fight director and choreographer in theater, film, television, opera and ballet. He has been awarded a Drama Desk and an Obie Award for Sustained and Consistent Excellence in Stage Combat. He also received a Lifetime Achiev ...
and
Vernon Morris's stage adaptation of the novel, which officially opened 5 March at the Irondale Center in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
* In July 2011,
Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...
staged a large-scale outdoor production of ''Treasure Island'' outside the theatre on
King Street, Bristol directed by Sally Cookson, with music by Benji Bower.
* From October 2013 to 2014, Mind the Gap Theatre Company held a national tour of ''Treasure Island'', retold by Olivier award-winning writer
Mike Kenny.
* In 2013, YouthPlays published ''Long Joan Silver'' by
Arthur M. Jolly, an adaptation where all of the pirates are women.
* From December 2014 to April 2015,
Arthur Darvill
Thomas Arthur Darvill (born 17 June 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Rory Williams, a companion of the Eleventh Doctor in the television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2012), as well as Rip Hunter in ''Legends of Tomorrow'' ...
, played Silver in the
National Theatre production of ''Treasure Island'' adapted by
Bryony Lavery
Bryony Lavery (born 1947) is a British dramatist, known for her successful and award-winning 1998 play '' Frozen''. In addition to her work in theatre, she has also written for television and radio. She has written books including the biography ...
and directed by
Polly Findlay
*The Broadway musical ''
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical'' features the character in the song "Poor Pirates".
* As part of their 2017 season, the
Stratford Festival of Canada
The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...
premiered a new adaptation of ''Treasure Island'' by Canadian playwright
Nicolas Billon.
Film
*
Charles Ogle played Silver in
the 1920 silent film.
*
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' ( ...
was the first speaking Long John Silver in
the 1934 film also starring
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931 ...
.
*
Robert Newton
Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for hi ...
became an iconic Long John Silver in
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's
1950 live-action film.
*The 1954 film, ''
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a Character (arts), fictional character and the main antagonist in the novel ''Treasure Island'' (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular cult ...
'', again starred Robert Newton as the title character, which he would reprise in television (see below).
*
The 1971 anime film depicts Silver as an anthropomorphic pig who captains his own pirate ship, sporting a hook prosthesis on his left hand rather than a missing leg.
* In 1971,
Boris Andreyev played Silver in the Soviet version ''Ostrov sokrovishch''.
*
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
portrayed Silver in
the 1972 live action film adaptation.
* In
the 1988 Soviet animated film adaptation,
Armen Dzhigarkhanyan
Armen Borisovich Dzhigarkhanyan (russian: Армен Борисович Джигарханян; hy, Արմեն Բորիսի Ջիգարխանյան, Armen Borisi Jigarkhanyan; ; 3 October 1935 – 14 November 2020) was a Soviet, Armenian, and Rus ...
provided the voice talent for John Silver.
* In the 1994 movie ''
The Pagemaster
''The Pagemaster'' is a 1994 American live-action/animated fantasy adventure film starring Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, Whoopi Goldberg, Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy, Frank Welker, Ed Begley Jr., and Mel Harris. The film was produced ...
'', the character of Silver is voiced by
Jim Cummings.
*
Tim Curry
Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...
portrays Long John Silver in Disney's
1996 Muppets musical film adaptation.
*
Jack Palance
Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...
, in one of his last film appearances, portrays Silver in
the 1999 film.
* Silver is voiced by
Brian Murray and depicted as a
cyborg
A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline. in the
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
2002 animated science fiction adventure film ''
Treasure Planet
''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The 43rd Disney animated feature film, it is a science fiction adaptat ...
''.
*
Lance Henriksen
Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his works in various science fiction, action and horror films, such as that of Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise, and Frank Black in Fox television series ''Millenn ...
played Silver in the 2006 film ''Pirates of Treasure Island''.
*
Tobias Moretti played Silver in the 2007 German film adaptation of ''Treasure Island,'' entitled ''Die Schatzinsel''.
* In the film ''
Solo: A Star Wars Story'' (2018), the character of
Tobias Beckett
Tobias Beckett is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, first appearing and portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the 2018 film '' Solo: A Star Wars Story''. He is a thief working for the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate and the mentor of Ha ...
(as played by
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
) was inspired by Long John Silver.
Television
*
Robert Newton
Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for hi ...
followed up his two feature films with a 1955 Australian-produced television series ''
The Adventures of Long John Silver''.
*
Peter Wyngarde
Peter Paul Wyngarde (born Cyril Goldbert, 23 August 1927 – 15 January 2018) was a British television, stage and film actor from the late 1940s to the mid 1990s. He was best known for portraying the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist ...
played Silver in the 1958 TV series ''The Adventures of Ben Gunn''.
*
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Television has presented the story in miniseries format four times, with the role of Silver being played by
in 1977. Miles played the role one final time in a 1982 TV movie.
* In 1959,
played the character in an acclaimed European four-part mini-series in 1966. He intended to reprise the role in another series with more adventures of Silver and began writing it with director
, but his sudden death in 1974 stopped all further plans. In 1985, the Ivor Dean script was used as foundation for the
played Silver in the 1987 television miniseries ''Treasure Island in Outer Space''.
*
'' (2014–2017), a prequel story set 20 years before ''Treasure Island''. In this series, Silver as a young man begins as a scheming cook who rises to serve as quartermaster on the ''Walrus'' and on a captured Spanish
, later to lead the pirate and former-slave forces that attempt to re-take Nassau from the British. Reflecting his relationship with Jim Hawkins, Silver intends only to use his crewmates to enrich himself, but comes to care for them despite himself. At one point, a rival pirate crew captures the Man O' War but, being too few to sail the ship themselves, ask Silver for a list of crew members who can be counted on to shift their loyalties, intending to execute the rest. Silver refuses, and the pirates torture him by repeatedly striking his leg with an axe. The ''Walrus crew free themselves and rescue him, but his leg is beyond saving and has to be amputated. He loses consciousness, and wakes to find that a grateful and impressed crew has voted him quartermaster.
*
''.
* ''A Ballad of John Silver'', a poem by John Masefield, was published in 1921.
* ''
'' is a Franco-Belgian comics series written by Xavier Dorison and illustrated by Mathieu Laufray which was published in French and English.
* John Silver, a fictional
'', was inspired by Long John Silver.
. For the duration of this tour the whole band decided to give themselves pseudonyms. Band member
became Long John for this occasion.
* The rock band
, is named after the character.
*
* Elwin, Malcolm (1939). ''Old Gods Falling''. New York: The Macmillan Company. .
* Prince, Alison (1994). ''Kenneth Grahame: An Innocent in the Wild Wood''. London: Allison & Busby. .
* Karg, Barbara; Spaite, Arjean (2007). ''The Everything Pirates Book: A Swashbuckling History of Adventure on the High Seas''. Avon, MA: Adams Media. .
* Jolly, Arthur M (2013). ''Long Joan Silver''. Los Angeles: YouthPLAYS, Inc. .
* Stevenson, Robert Louis; Colvin, Sidney, Sir (1899). ''Letters to his family and friends''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. .