This biography of the life of Robert Louis Stevenson reveals a man who escaped his Scottish town and family and went overland to California in poverty to reach his love, where he became a nomad, dreamed of being an explorer, and became instead a noted author. The myths and realities surrounding Stevenson's life and adventures are revealing and vivid in Callow's fine portrait.

Avast mates! Never has a finer tale of the sea to be had. Meet Long John, Captain Flint, Ben Gunn, and some of the other scurvy crew from 'Treasure Island'. Learn where the treasure came from. Fights at sea and ashore aplenty.

Robert Louis Stevenson's last work, written in Samoa where he died unexpectedly...beautiful daily prayers written for his family, and the Samoan people who shared the Stevenson home...The book includes an introduction by Mrs. R.L. Stevenson on the importance of the prayers, and of their life on the island...

Being an ancestor of RLS this book has a very special place in my heart.

This book has been an inspiration in times of both joy and trouble. Stevenson penned these prayers while head of household in late 1800s Somoa, and the sentiments are timelessly useful today. His wife writes in prologue, that just once the devoted Stevenson abruptly left evening prayers. When she asked him later, he replied that he was "not yet fit to to say, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." I have bid tearful goodbye to friends going abroad reading "Before a Temporary Separation" and in trial prayed "For Renewal of Joy." PRAYERS by Stevenson never disappoints. The only family prayer book you really need to own. Lovely illuminations in the Random House version.

Incredible, exciting, poignant biography of an underrated writer and wonderful man. Although McLynn is obviously a fan, it never becomes hagiography. This will have you reading Treasue Island again and wanting to travel to Scotland and Samoa.

Some of the best writers of his time--Henry James, for one--looked forward eagerly to getting letters from Stevenson, as he traveled around the world, looking for a place that might improve his health. (From boyhood on, he suffered from severe lung problems.) Dip into this book at random, and you'll see why. Stevenson put himself into his letters unreservedly--there's a confidential tone of voice throughout them that's warmly appealing--and he is acutely perceptive on a wide range of subjects, including himself. Ernest Mehew has judiciously chosen the best of the letters, and arranged them to create a de facto autobiography. This is a book that every literate person--and particularly anyone interested in nineteenth century literature in English--should have close at hand.

The original version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is much different than you would expect, if you haven't read it before. It plays out as a mystery of sorts. A lawyer friend of Jekyll tries to find out what the relationship is between the respectable Dr Jekyll and the lowlife Mr Hyde. It is not revealed until near the end of the story that they are in fact the same man. Of course, nowadays everyone is aware of that before they have even read this story. Naturally, a lot of the suspense of the story is lost due to this. Still, this story became a classic for a reason and is well worth a read. And it's short too, for you kids looking for a short book to read for a book report. There are two other suspense stories by Stevenson included here, too. These two are not classics, but they are also enjoyable.

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is assured a place in the history of horror fiction because it the literary classic that represents the archetype of the werewolf (the human with the monster hiding inside). Along with Mary Wollstonecraft's "Frankenstein" (the Thing Without a Name) and Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (the Vampire) Robert Louis Stevenson's novella is part of the gothic foundation of the modern horror story (there is really not a single ghost store of equal standing, although "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James comes close). All have in common the fact that they promise to tell a story that might best be left untold, which, of course, is exactly the sort of story we want to hear.

Given that Stevenson was writing when the genre of horror fiction was not recognized as such, it is surprising that "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is cast in the form of a mystery novel. Stevenson invites his readers to try and get ahead of the story, to put the clues together and come to the conclusion. Today it is nearly impossible to pick up this story and not know the "secret," but if you think back to the late 19th-century when this story was written you can get a sense for how Stevenson used the biases and limitations of his readers to his advantage in keeping them from what we might consider to be an obvious conclusion.

More importantly, Stevenson is writing several decades before the writings of Sigmund Freud revolutionized the whole idea of human psychology. Yet we can certainly find evidence of the conscious and subconscious mind of which Freud would write. Stevenson reinforces this metaphor with the block of buildings that divides this particular part of London, with one side representing the civilized world of a respected physician and the other side the squalor of the world inhabited by an inhuman creature who gives in to his every earthly desire. The novella also speaks to the topic of evolution, with Hyde being described as "ape-like," reinforcing the idea that our most human attributes remove us ever further from the category of mere animal.

Of the three classic horror novels, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is the most accessible. Not only because of its shorter length, but also because its evil is more realistic, even in terms of our imagination. We might be unable to reanimate the dead or to become the walking dead, but we can certainly relate to the idea of unleashing the beast buried with us. Even if we could not, we can recognize the "werewolf" in the real world in the form of serial killers who try to show a civilized face to us in public. This is not to say that the novella is simplistic, for Stevenson offers a sophisticated narrative. If this is one of those literary you have never read because you already know the story, then you should take out an evening to sit down and finally get around to reading it.

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is assured a place in the history of horror fiction because it the literary classic that represents the archetype of the werewolf (the human with the hiding inside). Along with Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's "Frankenstein" (the Thing Without a Name) and Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (the Vampire) Robert Louis Stevenson's novella is part of the gothic foundation of the modern horror story. All have in common the fact that they promise to tell a story that might best be left untold, which, of course, is exactly the sort of story we want to hear.

Given that Stevenson was writing when the genre of horror fiction was not recognized as such, it is surprising that "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is cast in the form of a mystery novel. Stevenson invites his readers to try and get ahead of the story, to put the clues together and come to the conclusion. Today it is nearly impossible to pick up this story and not know the "secret," but if you think back to the late 19th-century when this story was written you can get a sense for how Stevenson used the biases and limitations of his readers to his advantage in keeping them from what we might consider to be an obvious conclusion.

More importantly, Stevenson is writing several decades before the writings of Sigmund Freud revolutionized the whole idea of human psychology. Yet we can certainly find evidence of the conscious and subconscious mind of which Freud would write. Stevenson reinforces this metaphor with the block of buildings that divides this particular part of London, with one side representing the civilized world of a respected physician and the other side the squalor of the world inhabited by an inhuman creature who gives in to his every earthly desire. The novella also speaks to the topic of evolution, with Hyde being described as "ape-like," reinforcing the idea that our most human attributes remove us ever further from the category of mere animal.

Of the three classic horror novels, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is the most accessible. Not only because of its shorter length, but also because its evil is more realistic, even in terms of our imagination. We might be unable to reanimate the dead or to become the walking dead, but we can certainly relate to the idea of unleashing the beast buried with us. Even if we could not, we can recognize the "werewolf" in the real world in the form of serial killers who try to show a civilized face to us in public. This is not to say that the novella is simplistic, for Stevenson offers a sophisticated narrative. If this is one of those literary you have never read because you already know the story, then you should take out an evening to sit down and finally get around to reading it.

This is a beautifully presented and edited volume. The novel is a classic, and it is here edited by one of the greatest American scholars in her field, Susan Wolfson. Not to be missed.