London, July 01: Former biochemist and TV producer John Drake says that a controversial prequel to ‘Treasure Island’ he is writing will be aimed at a purely adult audience, unlike the original children classic penned by Scots author Robert Louis Stevenson.

Drake has revealed that his book will contain “sex, violence and swashbuckling adventure”.

Set to hit the bookshelves this week, the tome will have several new characters, and recount the rivalry between Captain Flint and Long John Silver.

Drake says that he has spent years studying stevenson’s book line by line, together with books and essays on 18th-century shipping and piracy.

“Recently, when I was able to become a full-time writer, I re-read the book and realised Treasure Island reads like a sequel,” the Daily Express quoted Drake, who became a full-time author nine years ago, as saying.

“It’s full of questions. Such as: Where did Long John get the parrot? Who was the black woman he married and who is referred to disparagingly in the book? I don’t write books without women. So my books are not for children,” he added.

Experts have long tried to find the island in the original book, and candidates have ranged from Unst in the Shetlands to Norman Island in the British Virgins.

“I’m never going to reveal the location of the island. But there’s a lot of information in the original book, so if you read it carefully you can take a pretty good guess,” Drake said.

ANI