The Ruby of Kishmoor (1908) is a deceptively simple story by renowned author and illustrator Howard Pyle. From the very beginning, it concerns itself with the mystery behind appearances, with all that lies hidden beneath the veil of a first glance. “You may never know what romantic aspirations may lie hidden beneath the most sedate and sober demeanor.” This is how the reader is introduced to Jonathan Rugg, a young Quaker from Philadelphia who unwittingly stumbles onto the adventure of a lifetime. In Kingston, Jamaica to work as a merchant, Rugg is an average, unassuming man. When Jonathan meets a woman veiled in silver fabric—and shrouded in mystery—she gives him a ball of ivory that carries with it a dreadful curse. Meanwhile, the fabled Ruby of Kishmoor has disappeared. The pirate Captain Robertson Keitt, a former merchant whose escapades in Africa and the Middle East have passed into legend, has been murdered by his crew, who suspected their captain of conspiring against them to steal the ruby. As Rugg is plunged into peril, a mystery unravels unlike any other. Howard Pyle’s The Ruby of Kishmoor is the tale of a man whose “serious” appearance conceals an abundant “appetite for romantic adventure.” For the reader looking to satisfy a craving for adventure, this is a work which rivals the better-known classic of swashbuckling terror, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1882). Curiously enough, Pyle’s student N.C. Wyeth would go on to illustrate a classic edition of Stevenson’s work in 1911, and was certainly influenced by his teacher’s well-documented skill for painting pirates and scenes on the high seas. The Ruby of Kishmoor, written and illustrated entirely by Pyle, is a book for children and adults alike. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this new edition of Howard Pyle’s The Ruby of Kishmoor is a thrilling work of adventure reimagined for modern readers.
