The quest for Robert Louis Stevenson by Cairney, John, 1930- instant download

The quest for Robert Louis Stevenson by Cairney, John, 1930- instant download

xiii, 205 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates ; 20 cm, In The Quest for Robert Louis Stevenson, John Cairney offers an original perspective on Scotland's finest writer of English prose, examining the close relationships in the fascinating life of Robert Louis Stevenson, and their often destructive effects on his personality and work, During his many travels in search of health, Stevenson gathered not only a literary fame but also an extended family of hangers-on. Years of restless wandering led him finally to tropical Samoa, where he found wellbeing and a release of the passionate potential that had been in him from his chilly beginnings in Edinburgh. But as he came into his own as a writer, his wife Fanny Osbourne retreated into paranoia and eccentric behavior and lost him his final chance to find real happiness, A compelling read, The Quest for Robert Louis Stevenson sheds new light on the complicated life of the man behind the famous stories - Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Kidnapped. (Publisher), Includes bibliographical references, Introduction -- Grit and grace -- A daft-like laddie -- Love, what is love? -- The reluctant advocate -- The illogical adventure -- A steady determination -- Marriage in extremis -- Child of air -- A shilling shocker -- Divided loyalties -- Such beautiful scenes -- A very meaningful relationship -- The breakthrough -- The speaking chief -- Less afraid of a petticoat -- Against the tide -- Postscript -- A Stevenson chronology -- Bibliography