"A suspenseful tale of intrigue in the South Seas, 'The Beach of Falesá' is distinguished, among Stevenson's works of fiction, for its realism. It pictures unregenerate human nature--the natives with their superstition and gullibility; the traders with their crudness, treachery, and degradation; the missionaries with their misguided zeal. A memorable feature of the story is the characterization of Wiltshire, a rough, uneducated man, something of a braggart, but withal a man of courage and rudimentary decency." Masterplots.