Robert Louis Stevenson

Father Damien (Annotated) Robert Louis Stevenson

Differentiated book- It has a historical context with research of the time-Father Damien by Robert Louis StevensonFather Damien (Damien de Veuster, 1840-1889) was a Roman Catholic missionary from Belgium. He went to the leper settlement in Molokai in 1873, where he helped the sick with the disease. Damien himself contracted leprosy and died of it in 1889. Robert Louis Stevenson's pamphlet, Father Damien (March 1890) was a response to a letter from the Rev. CM Hyde published in The Presbyterian newspaper on October 26, 1889. In the letter, Dr. Hyde criticized Damien's work in the leper settlement, with which Stevenson was outraged. Robert Louis Stevenson was outraged that what he perceived to be Damien's selfless work with lepers could be censored. Robert Louis Stevenson's response was deeply contemptuous, attacking Hyde personally. In fact, his pamphlet was full of such vitriol, he was convinced (wrongly) that he would be sued for defamation. In Father Damien Stevenson he quotes long passages from Hyde's letter, refuting his statements point by point. For example, quoting Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson writes: