The Bottle Imp (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A South Seas Gothic Fable of a Wish-Granting Imp, Faustian Bargain, and Moral TemptationBy Robert Louis Stevenson
Length2h 47m
About this audiobook
The Bottle Imp is a compact yet richly suggestive fable in which Robert Louis Stevenson transforms a supernatural bargain into a searching meditation on desire, mortality, and moral cost. Set largely in the South Pacific, the tale follows Keawe, a Hawaiian man who purchases a magical bottle containing an imp able to grant every wish—provided it is sold before its owner's death for less than its purchase price. Written with Stevenson's characteristic clarity, narrative economy, and ironic poise, the story joins Gothic fantasy, moral allegory, and colonial-era adventure romance. Stevenson composed the tale during his later years in the Pacific, where he settled in Samoa and developed a serious interest in island cultures, politics, and storytelling traditions. His own precarious health, lifelong fascination with doubles, temptation, and conscience, and sensitivity to the ethical ambiguities of imperial contact all inform the story's emotional and philosophical depth. This book is recommended to readers who admire concise fiction with the resonance of myth. It offers suspense, romance, and uncanny invention, while inviting reflection on whether happiness can ever be purchased without spiritual consequence.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreHorror
Length2 hrs 47 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 7, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
6The Bottle Imp
2Introduction
7Analysis
3Synopsis
8Reflection
4Historical Context
9Memorable Quotes
5Author Biography
Gesammelte Romane und Erzählungen von Robert Louis Stevenson (Kommentiert)Robert Louis Stevenson87h 45m$1 · $0.00
The Complete 13 Novels & longer fiction: Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Black Arrow, Kidnapped, The Master of Ballantrae, The Wrong Box and more... (Annotated)Robert Louis Stevenson106h 34m$2 · $0.00
Ausgewählte Erzählungen & Abenteuerromane (21 Titel in einem Band) (Kommentiert)Robert Louis Stevenson87h 47m$1 · $0.00
Des Rajahs Diamant und andere Kriminalgeschichten (Kommentiert)Robert Louis Stevenson6h 57m$1 · $0.00
Gesammelte Werke: Romane + Erzählungen (Kommentiert)Robert Louis Stevenson67h 49m$1 · $0.00
L'Île au trésor (Annoté)Robert Louis Stevenson9h 36m$2 · $0.00
The Master of Ballantrae: A Winters Tale (The Unabridged Illustrated Edition) (Annotated)Robert Louis Stevenson10h 44m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson (Annotated)Robert Louis Stevenson5h 55m$2 · $0.00
The Magic of Scotland - 70+ Scottish Historical Novels, Adventure Classics & Romance Novels (Annotated)Robert Louis Stevenson, John Buchan, George MacDonald, Walter Scott, J. M. Barrie976h 41m$2 · $0.00
Die Schatzinsel (Illustrierte Ausgabe) (Kommentiert)Robert Louis Stevenson10h 49m$1.50 · $0.00
The Complete Short Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson (Annotated)Robert Louis Stevenson41h 25m$2 · $0.00
El extraño caso del doctor Jekyll y el señor Hyde (Anotado)Robert Louis Stevenson4h 20m$2 · $0.00
Robert Louis Stevenson: Travel Sketches, Memoirs & Island Literature (Annotated)Robert Louis Stevenson53h 23m$2 · $0.00
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (The Classic Unabridged Edition) (Annotated)Robert Louis Stevenson4h 19m$2 · $0.00
Summertime Reading List: 180 Books You Need to Read (Vol.II) (Annotated)Robert Louis Stevenson, Henrik Ibsen, Charles Dickens, Ford Madox Ford, E. M. Forster, Honoré de Balzac, Jane Austen, L. M. Montgomery, Kenneth Grahame, Rabindranath Tagore, George and Weedon Grossmith, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Daniel Defoe, Jules Verne, Jonathan Swift, James Fenimore Cooper, George MacDonald, J. M. Barrie, Alexandre Dumas, Homer, Dante, William Dean Howells, Kakuzo Okakura, Gustave Flaubert, Victor Hugo, Stendhal, Sir Walter Scott, Anthony Trollope, Emile Zola, Theodor Storm, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Fielding, Jerome K. Jerome, Laurence Sterne, Thomas Hardy, Willa Cather, Edith Wharton, Kate Chopin, Sinclair Lewis, W. Somerset Maugham, Henry James, Ivan Turgenev, Nikolai Gogol, Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, Anonymous, Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Nietzsche, Benjamin Franklin, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Kalidasa, Válmíki, Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, Ann Ward Radcliffe, Bram Stoker, Gaston Leroux, H. G. Wells, Joseph Conrad, Lewis Wallace, Washington Irving, Machiavelli, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Confucius, Laozi, John Milton, P. B. Shelley, W. B. Yeats, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, D.H. Lawrence, George Bernard Shaw, Elizabeth von Arnim, Cao Xueqin, G. K. Chesterton, John Buchan, Edgar Wallace, Nikolai Leskov, Kurt Vonnegut, William Walker Atkinson, Émile Coué1196h 13m$3 · $0.00
Die Herren von Hermiston (Kommentiert)Robert Louis Stevenson8h 16m$1 · $0.00
El diablo en la botella (Anotado)Robert Louis Stevenson2h 46m$2 · $0.00
Meisterwerke der schottischen Literatur (Kommentiert)Robert Louis Stevenson, Walter Scott, Robert Burns, Arthur Conan Doyle, Tobias Smollett132h 28m$1 · $0.00
Gesammelte Werke: Abenteuerromane, Krimis & Seegeschichten (Kommentiert)Robert Louis Stevenson67h 47m$1 · $0.00
The Complete Short Stories (Annotated)Robert Louis Stevenson41h 23m$2 · $0.00
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Complete Edition)Arthur Conan Doyle12h 28m$2 · $0.00
DRACULA (Annotated)Bram Stoker17h 56m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Stories & Poems of Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe63h$2 · $0.00
A Long Way from OrdinaryAnn Charles, Sam Lucky9h 13m$20
Warrior’s FateWalt Browning10h 37m$20
The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Uncensored 13 Chapter Version + The Revised 20 Chapter Version (Annotated)Oscar Wilde16h 16m$2 · $0.00
The Skull of the WorldKate Forsyth10h 28m5.0 (1)$20
Reign Of AngelsBen Reeder8h 54m5.0 (1)$20
We’re AliveKc Wayland5h 10m$15
The Undead PoolKim Harrison16h 13m$33 · $0.00
Glacier's EdgeR. A. Salvatore13h 44m$33 · $0.00
Haint BlueStephanie Alexander11h 55m$23
The King in Yellow (Annotated)Robert W. Chambers8h 53m$2 · $0.00
Good OmensNeil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett12h 33m$33 · $0.00
Dark of NightJonathan Maberry, Rachael Lavin4h 59m2.0 (1)$20 · $0.00
The Renegade HunterLynsay Sands10h 7m$29 · $0.00
The Fall of the House of CabalJonathan L. Howard14h 54m$23
Lost GodsBrom14h 50m$33 · $0.00
The Complete Works of E. F. Benson (Illustrated)E. F. Benson335h 9m$1 · $0.00
The AccusedJana DeLeon6h 32m5.0 (1)$12 · $0.00
You may also like
The Lady of the BargeW. W. Jacobs5h 19m$2.30
Elsie VennerOliver Wendell Holmes13h 56m$2 · $0.00
The Witchin' CanoeMel Bossa8h 8m$5.50 · $0.00
Don't Breathe A WordJennifer McMahon12h$29 · $0.00
AylwinTheodore Watts-Dunton15h 14m$1 · $0.00
Melmoth the Wanderer Vol. 1 (of 4)Charles Robert Maturin6h 1m$2.30
The House of the Seven Gables (Annotated)Nathaniel Hawthorne17h 23m$2 · $0.00
The House of Sounds (Annotated)Matthew Phipps Shiel1h 26m$2 · $0.00
Thy Soul Shall Bear WitnessSelma Lagerlöf5h 17m$1 · $0.00
Evil Eye in the Western HighlandsRobert Craig6h 7m$2.30
Catch a Falling StarLeah Downing8h 17m$20
The First DistillerLeo Tolstoy39m$2.30 · $0.00
Thirst of the Living DeadArthur Leo Zagat2h 9m$2 · $0.00
The windfairies, and other talesMary De Morgan4h 29m$2 · $0.00
Curious, if TrueElizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell10h 15m$2.30
Tales of the Wonder ClubM. Y. Halidom28h 8m$2 · $0.00
The Life and Genius of Nathaniel HawthorneFrank Preston Stearns10h 56m$2 · $0.00
The Merry MenRobert Louis Stevenson8h 21m$2.30
Handicapped!Philip Critchlow21m$12 · $0.00
The Prayer ChestAugust Gold, Joel Fotinos5h 19m$20 · $0.00