Summary
Summary of The Wrecker
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Art and money pull Loudon apart
Loudon Dodd wants to be an artist, but money keeps drawing him toward another kind of life. His story travels from the art schools of Paris to the business world of San Francisco, then out into the Pacific. Before the sea adventure begins, the novel introduces the ambitions and friendships that will give it weight.
Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne bring together comedy, American enterprise and the mystery of a lost ship. Loudon’s divided loyalties connect these different worlds.
Key idea 2
Paris gives Loudon an artistic life
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Key idea 3
Pinkerton turns friendship into a partnership
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Key idea 4
Family troubles make money matter
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Key idea 5
A wreck becomes a suspicious investment
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Key idea 6
Conflicting stories put trust under pressure
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Key idea 7
Appearances connect the novel’s different worlds
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Key idea 8
Friendship gives the mystery its stakes
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love Stevenson's sea stories, comic friendship and mysteries, and anyone curious about artists, businessmen and the South Seas.
What this book is
The Wrecker is an adventure novel published in 1892. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote it with his stepson, Lloyd Osbourne, while the family lived in the South Seas. It is told by Loudon Dodd, a young American who wants to be an artist and keeps being pulled back toward money. The book moves from the art schools of Paris to the business world of San Francisco, and then out into the Pacific.
You get a comic portrait of friendship, a sharp look at American enterprise, and a mystery about a ship that was lost at sea. The story starts in studios and city streets, and the sea comes later. The first thing to meet is the young man at the center, and the odd path that takes him from Michigan to Paris.
In this summary
- 1A Michigan boy chooses art over businessFree
- 2Jim Pinkerton brings loud American energy
- 3Money problems pull Loudon back into the world
- 4A wreck is sold and a mystery begins
- 5The Pacific tests friendship, greed and truth
- 6What the book says and how it is told
Key point 1 of 6
A Michigan boy chooses art over business
Loudon Dodd grows up in Muskegon, Michigan, the son of a man who builds his fortune in business. The family expects the boy to follow his father into that world. Loudon has other tastes. He cares about pictures and sculpture and about the way artists live, and he wants to go where art is taken seriously.
So he sets out for Paris, the city every young art student of his day dreams about. There he joins the crowded life of the studios, the cheap lodgings and the cafes. Money is short, hope is high and talk about art goes on late into the night. Stevenson knew this world from his own youth and from the artists' villages he visited near Paris, and he writes about it with affection and gentle teasing.
Loudon is a likable narrator because he is honest about his own limits. He is clever, a little lazy and quick to see the comedy in himself. He tells us that he is not a great talent, and the reader slowly sees that he is right. Even so, he loves the life, and the early chapters give a warm picture of friends, rivals and small quarrels.
This opening also sets up the tension that runs through the whole book. Loudon wants to live for art, but he is the son of a business family, and the practical world keeps reaching for him. The reader is meant to feel that pull from the start. It is the question the rest of the novel keeps asking in different forms.
The pace here is easy and talkative. These chapters set up the people and the tone, so the later turns of fortune matter. Out of this studio world comes the man who will change Loudon's life.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
What central tension shapes Loudon’s life?
Right. “Loudon wants to live for art, but he is the son of a business family, and the practical world keeps reaching for him.”Not quite. “Loudon wants to live for art, but he is the son of a business family, and the practical world keeps reaching for him.”
Why does Pinkerton become interested in the Flying Scud?
Right. “To him, a wreck is something that can be bought, studied and made to pay.”Not quite. “To him, a wreck is something that can be bought, studied and made to pay.”
What personal test accompanies Loudon’s search for the truth?
Right. “It is whether his friendship with Pinkerton can survive the pressure of money and distance.”Not quite. “It is whether his friendship with Pinkerton can survive the pressure of money and distance.”
Who’s who
- Loudon Dodd
- Loudon is a young American aspiring artist and narrator whose friendship with Jim Pinkerton draws him toward business.
- Jim Pinkerton
- Jim is Loudon Dodd's close friend, a confident San Francisco businessman with boundless energy and ambitious plans.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 143,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 9 h 30 min
- Listening time15 h 50 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about The Wrecker
What is The Wrecker about?
It follows Loudon Dodd, an American art student, and his energetic friend Jim Pinkerton. Their business ventures lead from Paris and San Francisco to the Pacific, where the purchase of a wrecked ship opens a mystery.
Who wrote The Wrecker?
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote it with his stepson Lloyd Osbourne. It was published in 1892, while Stevenson was living in the Pacific, and it draws on his knowledge of the islands.
What does the title The Wrecker mean?
A wrecker is someone who makes a living from wrecked ships, through salvage or trade in what remains. In the book, Pinkerton and Loudon become wreckers after buying the remains of a ship.
Is The Wrecker a true story?
No, it is fiction, though Stevenson used real settings and his own experience of art circles and the South Seas. The characters and the main mystery are invented.
Is The Wrecker hard to read?
The language is clear, but the story is leisurely and changes style as it goes, from comic chapters to a mystery at sea. Readers who like Stevenson's other work usually find it rewarding.
