The Wrong Box: Annotated with a Detailed Biography, Literary Analysis, Added Essays, and Historical Context.

THE WRONG BOX, Robert Lous Stevenson’s classic black comedy of errors. A historic satire novel that has withstood the test of time. ‘Where is the body? This is very strange,’ mused Gideon. ‘Do you want the body?’ ‘Want it?’ cried Morris. ‘My whole fortune depends upon it!” The Wrong Box, by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, chronicles the exploits and adventures of the eccentric and financially troubled Finsbury family, in particular brothers Joseph and Masterman, who are the last to members of a survivor’s lottery known as a tontine. The last survivor will receive the full payment of the policy, with interest -sparking a rollicking dark comedy as the two elderly brothers endeavor to out-live the other to receive the vast fortune. With The Wrong Box, Stevenson and Osbourne weave an intricate tale of greed, deception, and absurdity while exploring the timeless themes adventure, morality, and the potentially treacherous allure of wealth. Written with Stevenson’s characteristic style and wit, The Wrong Box was an immediate and enduring success upon publication, The Wrong Box has withstood the test of time to remain a beloved and widely read historical satire novel to this day. Sneak Peek: When Joseph Finsbury and his brother Masterman were little lads in white-frilled trousers, their father–a well-to-do merchant in Cheapside–caused them to join a small but rich tontine of seven-and-thirty lives. A thousand pounds was the entrance fee; and Joseph Finsbury can remember to this day the visit to the lawyer’s, where the members of the tontine–all children like himself–were assembled together, and sat in turn in the big office chair, and signed their names with the assistance of a kind old gentleman in spectacles and Wellington boots. In the year 1840 the thirty-seven were all alive; in 1850 their number had decreased by six; in 1856 and 1857 business was more lively, for the Crimea and the Mutiny carried off no less than nine. There remained in 1870 but five of the original members, and at the date of my story, including the two Finsburys, but three. Presented in its original text to match the author’s singular vision, with a detailed author biography, literary analysis, added essays, and historical context, this classic historical satire novel will make the perfect gift to a friend, to a loved one, or to yourself. Title Details Detailed Biography and Analysis Added Essays Historical Context Analysis of the 19th Century Classic Historical Fiction