Talk about knowing how to move a story along! Long John Silver fools the Squire and the Doctor. The captain is appalled by the crew. First mate, a drunkard, goes overboard forever. Our boy, hiding in an apple barrel, hears the nefarious plot and reports back. They reach the island. The men, wild with lust for gold, get surly--expecting to trip over treasure the moment they reach land. Captain allows them to go to the island so that the six or seven "true" men can plan how to take on the 19 scoundrels. Our boy, though, goes to the island with the scoundrels to do more spying. Terrific writing. The Audible narrator is fantastic. Whispersync, as usual, isn't really working, but the short chapters make it possible to move back and forth without much problem.
February 1895 (Alice died in 1892) Money problems, jealousy of Wilde; time spent with Lord Wolseley1; off to Ireland to lick his wounds; Irish unrest--Irish landlords boycott all social events; much time spent with manservant Hammond (homosexual attraction again); fancy dress ball, appalling to James, who is only happy in company of Hammond, though Hammond remains a servant and no more; little girl alone on the grounds--inspiration for Turn of the Screw?; conflict with Webster who alludes to Wilde's successful play and HJ's failure; Wolseley was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army . He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, West Africa, and Egypt, followed by a central role in modernizing the British Army in promoting efficiency. He served in Burma, the Crimean War , the Indian Mutiny , China, Canada and widely throughout Africa—including his Ashanti campaign (18...
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