The adventure story told in Treasure Island has become a part of popular folklore. John Sutherland discusses the novel's place in Stevenson's biography and oeuvre in his learned and lively critical introduction to this new edition. Exploring the novel's genesis in Stevenson's plundering of other writers, his writer's block, and the surprisingly disturbing and complex nature of what was meant to be a children's story, Sutherland argues for the enduring vitality and appeal of Stevenson's first novel.

Appendices include Stevenson's writing about the novel, contemporary reviews, and sources on which Stevenson drew (or from which he borrowed) when writing Treasure Island.