The Wrecker (Stevenson novel)


The Wrecker is an ocean adventure novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson in collaboration with his stepson Lloyd Osbourne.

Plot

The story is a "sprawling, episodic adventure story, a comedy of brash manners and something of a detective mystery", according to Roderick Watson. It revolves around the abandoned wreck of the Flying Scud at Midway Atoll. Clues in a stamp collection are used to track down the missing crew and solve the mystery. It is only in the last chapter that different story elements become linked.
Stevenson described it as a "South Sea yarn" concerning "a very strange and defective plan that was accepted with open eyes for what seemed countervailing opportunities offered". The book sold well but reviews were mixed, with a New York Times reviewer concluding that:
The loosely connected stories reflect how Stevenson and Osbourne wrote the book. Each contributed different sections, but agreed to develop characters and descriptions of places they both knew well. The following are examples:
"The Wrecker" is an episode of Roy Huggins' TV Western Maverick starring James Garner and Jack Kelly. It is described in the opening title credit as "Robert Louis Stevenson's The Wrecker" and in the closing credits as "From a Novel by Robert Louis Stevenson & Lloyd Osbourne". The Maverick brothers buy the wreck of the Flying Scud at an auction in San Francisco and try to find out why its cargo is so valuable. The supporting cast features Errol Flynn lookalike Patric Knowles as the character inspired by Jack Buckland and Karl Swenson as a colorful sea captain.