Robert Louis Stevenson

The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer, whose reputation came primarily from his novels and essays, including "Treasure Island" and "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". He is ranked among the 30 most translated authors in the world, ahead of Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allan Poe. Although his notoriety derives largely from his novels and essays, Stevenson produced a large collection of poetry that has been compared to that of William Ernest Henley and Rudyard Kipling. The principle object of most of his poetry is to capture a moment, be it a memory, an emotion, or some fleeting experience, and to draw his readers wholly into that moment. So much has been written on R. L. Stevenson, as a boy, a man, and a man of letters, so much has been written both by himself and others, that can hope to add nothing essential to the world's knowledge of his character and appreciation of his genius. What is essential has been said, once for all, by Sir Sidney Colvin in "Notes and Introductions" to R. L. S.'s "Letters to His Family and Friends.", but contribute the personal views of one who knew, loved, and esteemed his junior that is already a classic; but who never was of the inner circle of his intimates.