Other editions of book The Wrong Box

Two brothers will do whatever it takes to hide a body and inherit a fortune in this laugh-out-loud crime caper Elderly Joseph and Masterman Finsbury are the last survivors of a tontine established in their youth. Their nephews, Morris and John, have one simple goal: Keep Uncle Joseph alive longer than Uncle Masterman. If they succeed, the brothers will be set for life. If they fail, the fortune goes to cousin Michael—and poverty will be their fate. When the siblings regain consciousness after a train wreck, they discover that Joseph—or a man dressed exactly like him—died in the crash. Not to worry; Morris has a plan. Instead of burying the body where anyone might dig it up, they’ll ship it around the world until Uncle Masterman dies. It seems foolproof, until the incorrect package arrives at the first destination and Morris and John have to find poor, dead Uncle Joseph before somebody opens the wrong box. This ebook features a new introduction by Otto Penzler and has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

*This Book is annotated (it contains a detailed biography of the author). *An active Table of Contents has been added by the publisher for a better customer experience. *This book has been checked and corrected for spelling errors.The Wrong Box is a black comedy novel co-written by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, first published in 1889. The story is about two brothers who are the last two surviving members of a tontine.

It must always be a subject for wonder why Stevenson, whose reputation as a writer was jealously guarded by himself and his friends, should ever have accepted the part of joint-author of this farcical tale. A generous desire for his stepson to share in the benefit of association with himself is the most credible explanation. The tale in the first instance was written and re-written entirely by Lloyd Osbourne, then twenty years of age, at Saranac during the winter of 1887. To Stevenson it appeared ' so funny ' that he took it in hand, and in the course of the following year revised it to such an extent that in Mr. Osbourne's words ' it lived as it had never lived before.'

A masterpiece of farcical comedy by the author of Treasure Island sees two brothers about to inherit a fortune, if only one pesky relative would adhere to the rules… The Wrong Box is a black comedy novel, co-written by Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and his stepson Lloyd Osbourne. Morris and John Finsbury stands to gain a lot of money if their Uncle Masterman dies, but none if Uncle Joseph dies first. So when Joseph seems to have come to an untimely end in a railway accident, a farcical sequence is set in motion. Determined to conceal the death, Morris hides the body in a barrel which he then ships to London. How will the situation resolve itself and how long can the deception continue for…? First published in 1889 and adapted several time for film and musical, The Wrong Box is Stevenson at his funniest. The farce moves at a tremendous pace with Stevenson rapidly piling up train crashes, missing uncles, cases of mistaken identity and surplus dead bodies.

A masterpiece of farcical comedy by the author of Treasure Island sees two brothers about to inherit a fortune, if only one pesky relative would adhere to the rulesMorris and John Finsbury stand to gain a lot of money if their Uncle Masterman dies, but none if Uncle Joseph dies first. So when Joseph seems to have come to an untimely end in a railway accident, a farcical sequence is set in motion. Determined to conceal the death, Morris hides the body in a barrel which he then ships to London. How will the situation resolve itself and for how long can the deception continue? First published in 1889 and adapted several time for film and musical, The Wrong Box is Stevenson at his funniest. The farce moves at a tremendous pace with Stevenson rapidly piling up train crashes, missing uncles, cases of mistaken identity, and surplus dead bodies.

The Wrong Box is a black comedy novel co-written by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, first published in 1889. The story is about two brothers who are the last two surviving members of a tontine. The book was the first of three novels that Stevenson co-wrote with Osbourne, who was his stepson. The others were The Wrecker (1892) and The Ebb-Tide (1894). Osbourne wrote the first draft of the novel late in 1887 (then called The Finsbury Tontine), Stevenson revised it in 1888 (then called A Game of Bluff) and again in 1889 when it was finally called The Wrong Box. A film adaptation, also titled The Wrong Box, was released in 1966, and a musical in 2002.

Despite Robert Louis Stevenson being known for his more macabre and successful book – The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – his dark humor story, written together with his stepson, Lloyd Osbourne, The Wrong Box, creates a completely different set of circumstances, being far more hilarious than horrific. The story is a perfect portrayal of Stevenson’s interest with the polarities and alterations that occur in a person’s character upon the presence of a triggering event. In this case, it revolves around a group of life insurance policy owners who are presented with a curious and disturbing fact: the full amount paid by the insurance company will rest with the last surviving member of the group. Although some readers may expect a horror story filled with situations where group members constantly try to kill each other, the entire plot is remarkably droll. The writers are able to create a lighthearted atmosphere with some of the funniest, most unique circumstances that could occur considering the challenges faced by the characters. The mischievous tone and exemplary writing style often lead us to believe the authors are almost making fun of the characters’ misfortune, while keeping the entire work balanced. One of the best examples of this is Morris’ interest in keeping his guardian alive for the money in favor of his uncle, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. After an unfortunate train wreck, Morris places his dead guardian’s body in a barrel and mails it to himself, only to find upon arrival that the addresses were mixed up at the post office, and he received a large statue of Hercules instead. Much of the humor in The Wrong Box focuses on the unexpected, depicting the hilarious and sometimes disturbing reactions the characters may have to various events. You will find the story as a whole can be just as unexpected yet quite a memorable reading experience.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.