Treasure Island revisited

In 1881 Robert Louise Stevenson wrote Treasure Island as a story for boys.

The touchstone for what's to be included and excluded in the novel was the young son of his new wife, an American divorcee. Both "psychology"  and "fine writing" were excluded from the book because  these were assumed to be girly materials in the 19th century.

It's no surprise that there are no female characters in the novel.

Andrew Motion, a former English poet-laureate (1999-2009) has created a female character in his sequel to this English classic. Her name is Nattie and Nattie is the famous Long John Silver's daughter. Natty, however, isn't a girlie girl; she is of androgynous appearance and has the edge of one of Shakespeare's cross-dressing heroines.

Nattie and Jim Jr. revisit the island in search of the elusive treasure. The adventures of the boy and his boyish girl companion inform the sequel, Silver: Return to Treasure Island.

Reviews of the sequel can be found here and here.